Is Rocking A Baby Dangerous?

There's a good chance that when you brought your newborn home from the hospital, you'd do anything to get your little bundle of joy to sleep. Because it makes them feel like they're back inside mom's womb, rocking (or other rhythmic movement) is a therapeutic sleep aid for many infants.

Even though some babies have strong preferences for one kind of movement over another, the truth is that there are a range of techniques to relax a baby. While others "rock" their kids by walking or driving about town with them in strollers or car seats, others choose to bounce their newborns while holding them. An infant safely fastened into a car seat. There are many products available to help in swaying, vibrating, and swinging, such as bassinets, bouncers, and swings. Babies have a universal trait: the need to always be on the go.

While rocking or bouncing your baby to sleep can seem like a godsend in those first few weeks and months, but it can become a hardship for some parents later on. For the same reason that nursing or putting your baby to sleep can establish a slumber association, rocking your baby to sleep might, too. The potential danger is that your infant will become dependent on you and refuse to learn to self-soothe. If your baby is used to being carried to sleep, he or she may likely awaken in the middle of a night expecting to be rocked again. And that can wear a parent down.

That's not to say that rocking your baby isn't a good idea. Both you and your baby can benefit from a calming rock and play session. However, you may discover that the best of the both worlds can be achieved by rocking your baby to sleep while he or she is still awake and drowsy, and then placing him or her in the cot to fall asleep independently.

Is your baby already used to falling asleep cradled in the folds of your arms? You should make an effort to gradually replace that sleep association with one that doesn't involve your active participation. Put on some white noise, either from a machine or a CD, and rock out for a few days. Turning on the white light and reducing or eliminating the rocking can help your child link those noises with falling asleep. If rocking your baby to sleep isn't doing the trick, try bouncing the mattress instead, or rubbing his or her back. As time goes on, you can reduce your involvement until your kid can finally pass out without your help.

Research that reveals even modest shaking might cause an infant's death may provide fresh grounds for appeal for those convicted of murdering their babies by shaking them severely.

It was once believed that babies died from head trauma sustained by prolonged, violent, deliberate shaking.

The majority of infants who were previously assumed to have died from brain injury as a result of shaking or being struck actually perished from stopping to breathe, according to a study led by neuropathologist Jennian Geddes from the Royal London hospital.

Instead of the brain itself being a weak region, they blame the area where the brain and spinal cord connect. babies because of the weight of the head compared to the weakness of neck muscles.

The area of the spinal cord that regulates respiration is particularly vulnerable to injury near the craniocervical junction, so it's important to avoid swaying back and forth there.

Normal parental care, such as rocking a child on one's knee or shoulder, does not appear to be harmful, as suggested by the Geddes team's research featured in today's New Scientist. It does, however, imply that carelessness or lack of awareness could play a bigger role in apparently violent baby deaths than previously thought.

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WHAT IS SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME?

If you shake a newborn too violently, they could suffer from shaken infant syndrome, a potentially fatal brain injury. There are a number of names for this condition, including shaken-baby syndrome, shaken-impact syndrome, and abuse-related head trauma. Violently shaking an infant might cause lasting brain damage. The first signs of trembling can appear in as little as 5 seconds.

Children have delicate brains and frail necks. They also have sensitive blood vessels. When you shake a baby or young child, their brain hits the inside of their skull over and over again, which can be damaging. A hit to the head like this can cause edoema, haemorrhage, and bruising in the brain. Broken bones, broken eyes, broken neck, and broken vertebrae are all possible outcomes for the infant.

Children under the age of 2 are at greater risk for developing shaken infant syndrome, but it can afflict kids of any age. Infants between the ages of 6 and 8 weeks old are the most vulnerable to shaken baby syndrome.

Normal, playful activity with a baby, such as bouncing the baby on one's lap or tossing the baby in the air, will not result in the injuries that characterise shaken baby syndrome. Instead, the baby is shaken in irritation or fury, which can cause serious injury.

Shaking a child is never okay, especially a baby. Shaking the infant is a kind of child abuse. Call 911 immediately if you or anybody else suspects a child has been shaken. This is a serious medical situation that requires immediate attention.

It may come as a surprise, but the most common cause of child abuse is a carer losing their cool because of a crying baby. Trust it! Scientists have discovered that the most common motivation for shaking a baby is impatience with the child's wailing. Unless you've tried everything under the sun to quiet a fussy baby, you may find it difficult to relate to this.

Infants undergo a period of intense crying, which is discussed in further detail elsewhere on this site. The Period of Blue Crying is defined as the time between the ages of two weeks and two months, with its peak occuring between the ages of two months and four or five months. Many parents feel completely unprepared to handle this stage of their child's development, making it one of the most trying times in their lives. Thus, it is during this period that the vast majority of shaken and abused infants can be found.

How could somebody do this to an baby, you may be asking yourself? the majority of people don't intend for it to happen, which is the answer. Almost always, parents accused of shaking their infant have never been violent before. Typically, these parents are just regular folks who, in a fit of passion, lose their cool and shake their kid.

Children's neck muscles and brains are not developed enough to endure the violence of someone being shaken, making the initial year of life particularly dangerous. An infant's neck moves back as it is shaken, bringing the chin to the chest and the rear of the head to the upper back. When a baby is violently shaken, their brain hits the inside of their skull, causing serious bleeding and edoema. Retinal sheering and tearing contribute to further bleeding and eventual blindness for most cases of SBS.

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME?

Intense shaking of a baby or toddler can cause shaken baby syndrome. It's not uncommon for adults to shake a baby in rage or irritation if the baby won't cooperate with the shaker. stop crying. Shaking may temporarily quiet a wailing infant, but it does so at the expense of permanent brain damage.

Young children often need assistance holding their heads erect because of their underdeveloped necks. The skull of a baby will jerk crazily if you shake it. The baby's brain is bruised, swollen, and sometimes even bleeds from the repeated jarring against the interior of the skull.

Many wonder what other actions besides shaking can trigger SBS symptoms. When a worried grandmother asks, "My son was bouncing my grandson on his knee, and his head was moving all around, is he going to suffer shaken baby syndrome?" the answer is almost always no. An infant develops Shaken Baby Syndrome after being violently and forcefully shaken. Practically everyone would agree that this is a potentially fatal situation. Playful activities like bouncing a baby on a knee or whisking them through the air, while not recommended, are not going to cause SBS.

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SYMPTOMS AND WARNING SIGNS

Under-diagnosis of this illness occurs frequently since there is no obviously external indication of injuries or physical symptom of violence. A baby's primary internal injuries may go undetected by unsuspecting carers and even doctors, who may incorrectly attribute the infant's fussiness to something like a virus.

Traumatic brain swelling can induce a wide range of symptoms. They could show up right after the shaking stops and usually peak within four to six hours. Please read the following signs and symptoms may indicate shaken baby syndrome:

• state of mind modification
• Feeling sleepy and irritable at the same time
• Coma
• Seizures or convulsions
• pupil dilation without light response
• Loss of Appetite
• Vomiting
• a stance characterised by a rounded back and a cocked head
• An uneven or difficult breathing pattern
• respiratory rate that is abnormally sluggish and shallow
• Arrest of the heart
• Death

WHAT IS THE DIAGNOSIS OF SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME?

The doctor will be looking for the three symptoms that strongly suggest shaken baby syndrome in order to make a diagnosis. This includes:

• brain swelling (encephalopathy)
• bleeding beneath the dura mater, often known as a subdural hematoma.
• eye bleeding, often known as retinal haemorrhage or retinal tear

Multiple diagnostic procedures will be ordered by the doctor to look for symptoms of brain injury and also to aid make a definitive diagnosis. Such examinations may consist of:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans employ strong magnets plus radio waves to create high-resolution pictures of the brain.
• Brain cross-sectional pictures are produced clearly by CT scanning.
• X-ray of the skeleton showing several breaks in the spine, ribs, and skull.
• diagnostic procedure used to detect eye diseases and treat them

When a patient arrives with signs and symptoms suggestive of shaken infant syndrome, the doctor will usually order blood tests to rule out any underlying medical issues. Shaken baby syndrome is just one of several conditions that share symptoms. Diseases that cause excessive bleeding, as well as genetic illnesses like osteogenesis imperfecta, are two examples. If your child's blood test comes back negative, it's likely that his or her symptoms aren't the result of an unusual disease.

INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE

The vast majority of occurrences of this syndrome occur in infants and toddlers, typically before the first birthday. The typical age of a victim is between 3 and 8 months. Some of the children of this abuse, however, have been as young as four years old. Mothers, mothers' lovers, mothers, or female babysitters are the most common perpetrators of child abuse. When parents are under stress, they may become more prone to acting impulsively and violently. It's possible that those with histories of domestic violence and/or substance abuse are more prone to violent acts themselves.

The annual incidence of shaken baby syndrome in the United States is estimated by the National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome to fall somewhere between 600 to 1400 cases. Due to the lack of a dependable technique for collecting such data, the actual incidence rate is unknown. When newborns and young children are abused, this syndrome is the leading cause of death & long-term damage.

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WHAT IS THE TREATMENT FOR SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME?

Call 911 immediately if you suspect your child has been shaken. Shaking the baby can cause respiratory problems for certain infants. If this happens, CPR can help you keep your infant alive until help arrives.

These are the steps that the American Red Cross suggests taking when performing CPR:

Tuck the baby's legs under them and lay them on their back. Two individuals should carefully move the baby so that the neck and head don't rotate if a spinal injury is suspected.

Set your stance. Two fingers should be placed in the hollow at the centre of the breastbone of infants younger than a year. One hand on the middle of your child's chest is appropriate if he or she is older than a year. Put your other hand on the baby's forehead to provide support. If a spinal injury is suspected, the jaw should be drawn forwards instead of the neck, and the lips should be kept apart.

Start chest compressions to initiate CPR. To apply pressure to the chest, press down in the hollow that lies between the two breastbones. Give 30 quick compressions in a loud voice. There should be quick and firm compressions.

In case of emergency, administer rescue breathing. After CPR compressions, check for breathing. Don't wait for the infant to start breathing normally before covering his or her mouth and nose using your mouth. Give two breaths and make sure the airways is clear. Each inhalation should be held for about a second to achieve the desired chest expansion.

Don't stop performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Maintain a rhythm of 30 compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths. Verify that they are still alive by checking on them frequently.

There is a risk that shaking a newborn will make them sick. Baby should be rolled onto their side to prevent choking. When rolling someone, it's important to do so with the whole body in mind. This type of rolling decreases the potential for additional spinal cord injury in the event of a spinal cord injury. You aren't allowed to feed or water the infant or take up the baby.

Unfortunately, shaken baby syndrome cannot be medicated away. Bleeding in the head is usually treated with blood clots, although in extreme situations surgery may be necessary. A shunt, or small tube, may be inserted to redirect blood flow or drain excess fluid. Any blood in the eye may require surgical removal before it causes lasting damage to the patient's eyesight.

You may be thinking, "What does this mean for me?" Now that we know how harmful it is to shake a baby and that it's possible for anyone to lose their cool and do it, a parent may wonder, "What can I do to protect my child?" The information in the Time of PURPLE Crying should be shared with everybody who comes into contact with your baby. It's important to reassure them that it's common for a baby to cry even after they've done all they can think of to soothe them. They should put the infant in a secure location and give you a call if they become angry while caring for the baby. Please visit our Childcare page for more information on how to tell other carers of this data.

Always keep in mind that some babies scream more than others and it's normal to feel annoyed by this. Exactly how you deal with your anger is crucial. Please click here if you need help managing your anger and fury. Shaking a fussy or otherwise troublesome baby is never the answer. The riskiest scenario is this one: thing you can do to your baby.

Conclusion 

Rocking is a therapeutic sleep aid for many infants. Some parents "rock" their kids by walking or driving about town with them in strollers or car seats. Others choose to bounce their newborns while holding them. There are products available to help in swaying, vibrating, and swinging, such as bassinets, bouncers, and swings. The majority of infants who were previously assumed to have died from brain injury as a result of shaking or being struck actually perished from stopping to breathe, according to a study.

Normal parental care, such as rocking a child on one's knee or shoulder, does not appear to be harmful, research suggests. It does, however, imply that carelessness or lack of awareness could play a bigger role in apparently violent baby deaths. Virtually shaking an infant can cause lasting brain damage. The first signs of trembling can appear in as little as 5 seconds. Broken bones, broken eyes, broken neck, and vertebrae are all possible outcomes for the infant.

Call 911 immediately if you or anybody else suspects a child has been shaken. This is a serious medical situation that requires immediate attention.

Content Summary: 

• There's a good chance that when you brought your newborn home from the hospital, you'd do anything to get your little bundle of joy to sleep.
• Because it makes them feel like they're back inside mom's womb, rocking (or other rhythmic movement) is a therapeutic sleep aid for many infants.
• Even though some babies have strong preferences for one kind of movement over another, the truth is that there are a range of techniques to relax a baby.
• While others "rock" their kids by walking or driving about town with them in strollers or car seats, others choose to bounce their newborns while holding them.
• An infant safely fastened into a car seat.
• There are many products available to help in swaying, vibrating, and swinging, such as bassinets, bouncers, and swings.
• Babies have a universal trait: the need to always be on the go.
• While rocking or bouncing your baby to sleep can seem like a godsend in those first few weeks and months, but it can become a hardship for some parents later on.
• For the same reason that nursing or putting your baby to sleep can establish a slumber association, rocking your baby to sleep might, too.
• The potential danger is that your infant will become dependent on you and refuse to learn to self-soothe.
• If your baby is used to being carried to sleep, he or she may likely awaken in the middle of a night expecting to be rocked again.
• And that can wear a parent down.
• That's not to say that rocking your baby isn't a good idea.
• Both you and your baby can benefit from a calming rock and play session.
• However, you may discover that the best of the both worlds can be achieved by rocking your baby to sleep while he or she is still awake and drowsy, and then placing him or her in the cot to fall asleep independently.
• Is your baby already used to falling asleep cradled in the folds of your arms?
• You should make an effort to gradually replace that sleep association with one that doesn't involve your active participation.
• Put on some white noise, either from a machine or a CD, and rock out for a few days.
• If rocking your baby to sleep isn't doing the trick, try bouncing the mattress instead, or rubbing his or her back.
• As time goes on, you can reduce your involvement until your kid can finally pass out without your help.
• Research that reveals even modest shaking might cause an infant's death may provide fresh grounds for appeal for those convicted of murdering their babies by shaking them severely.
• It was once believed that babies died from head trauma sustained by prolonged, violent, deliberate shaking.
• The majority of infants who were previously assumed to have died from brain injury as a result of shaking or being struck actually perished from stopping to breathe, according to a study led by neuropathologist Jennian Geddes from the Royal London hospital.
• Instead of the brain itself being a weak region, they blame the area where the brain and spinal cord connect.
• babies because of the weight of the head compared to the weakness of neck muscles.
• The area of the spinal cord that regulates respiration is particularly vulnerable to injury near the craniocervical junction, so it's important to avoid swaying back and forth there.
• Normal parental care, such as rocking a child on one's knee or shoulder, does not appear to be harmful, as suggested by the Geddes team's research featured in today's New Scientist.
• It does, however, imply that carelessness or lack of awareness could play a bigger role in apparently violent baby deaths than previously thought.
• If you shake a newborn too violently, they could suffer from shaken infant syndrome, a potentially fatal brain injury.
• There are a number of names for this condition, including shaken-baby syndrome, shaken-impact syndrome, and abuse-related head trauma.
• Violently shaking an infant might cause lasting brain damage.
• The first signs of trembling can appear in as little as 5 seconds.
• Children have delicate brains and frail necks.
• When you shake a baby or young child, their brain hits the inside of their skull over and over again, which can be damaging.
• A hit to the head like this can cause edoema, haemorrhage, and bruising in the brain.
• Broken bones, broken eyes, broken neck, and broken vertebrae are all possible outcomes for the infant.
• Children under the age of 2 are at greater risk for developing shaken infant syndrome, but it can afflict kids of any age.
• Infants between the ages of 6 and 8 weeks old are the most vulnerable to shaken baby syndrome.
• Normal, playful activity with a baby, such as bouncing the baby on one's lap or tossing the baby in the air, will not result in the injuries that characterise shaken baby syndrome.
• Instead, the baby is shaken in irritation or fury, which can cause serious injury.
• Shaking a child is never okay, especially a baby.
• Shaking the infant is a kind of child abuse.
• Call 911 immediately if you or anybody else suspects a child has been shaken.
• This is a serious medical situation that requires immediate attention.
• It may come as a surprise, but the most common cause of child abuse is a carer losing their cool because of a crying baby.
• Scientists have discovered that the most common motivation for shaking a baby is impatience with the child's wailing.
• Infants undergo a period of intense crying, which is discussed in further detail elsewhere on this site.