Syndrome of the shocked child: how to avoid it? The prevention days are underway

When a child cries, the parent would do anything to make him stop. Even culling it strongly until it shakes it. This behavior, however, can cause a form of cerebral trauma which has even the outcome Death. It is the Syndrome of the shocked child (Shaken Baby Syndrome)in Italy still little known. The 5, 6 and 7 Aprilcome back the National prevention days that lead, In 70 cities of 18 Italian regions, the infopoint of the campaign « Do not! »

Scrolled child syndrome: enlightened monuments

The initiative is organized by the Foundation Terre de Hommes and from the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics (SIMEUP)with theNational Association Public Assistance (ANPAS)the Italian Federation of Pediatric Doctors (FIMP)as well as with the hospital network for the prevention of child abuse. For the occasion, on the evening of April 6, the Pirelli skyscraper in Milanthe Mole Antonelliana in Turin and theInstitute of the Innocenti of Florencewill be illuminated with the colors and the campaign symbol. The goal is to explain what this syndrome is and how to prevent it. The most affected They are children between 2 weeks and 6 months of lifeperiod of maximum intensity of the infant crying. In 1 case out of 4 this gesture can cause the coma or the death of the newbornbut many others are the devastating effects that a few seconds of shaking can cause. Among these: brain damage, vision or hearing problems, behavioral or motor coordination disorders. The shaken child syndrome is one severe form of physical abusebut mostly unaware and involuntary: The parent, in fact, is moved by the intention to calm his son.

Child: handle carefully

In the early stages of life The only way of communication of the newborn is crying. «He cries if he is hungry, if he is sleepy, if he has pain. And when the parent cannot codify the cause, the child does not stop – he warns Sebastian Cristaldihead of the emergency room of theBambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital -. This Intense and prolonged cry causes great suffering in the parent who, in the desperate attempt to make it stop, instinctively, shakes him. However, he ignores the physical conformation of his son. His bossIndeed, it is larger and heavier than the rest of the body, The neck muscles are still little robust and the brain is developing, therefore fragile. The neuronal damage that can unfortunately do not repair. It should therefore be emphasized that Shaking is never a good idea, not even for fun». It is not surprising that the shocked child syndrome is more frequent in the first children, when there is less knowledge of the situation.

Word of order: ask for help

When a parent perceives that he is in difficulty must not hesitate to ask for help. It can contact not only to the pediatrician, who normally is close to the house and always present, but also to those who surround the family unit, such as uncles and grandparents, for an emotional and operational support. «Often parents feel inadequate to play that role, but in reality it is something that is learned in the course of work. -underlines Cristaldi -. If the child has been shaken and manifest symptoms As a loss of consciousness, repeated vomiting, it is more burden or continues to cry tirelessly, You have to visit it immediately. In the emergency room mom and dad should not be guilty but it is good that they tell everything that happened so that they can allow doctors to do the clinical picture. Parents are not born but you become In relation to those in front of you, their child, « he concludes.