Shaken baby syndrome: the shaking of the baby that causes irreparable damage
It's called Shaken baby syndrome and it's a violent shaking of a child, usually under the age of 2, very often performed with the intention of calming the crying, which can cause serious physical and neurological damage if done with particular force. This is a little known form of mistreatment, especially in Italy, of which little is known in terms of official data precisely because it is rather difficult to diagnose. It is for this reason that Terre des Hommes has decided to carry out a national campaign for the prevention of shaken child syndrome by the name "Don't Shake It!" , which also includes a TV commercial with the actor Alessandro Preziosi, with the aim of raising awareness and informing new parents about this syndrome and making proper prevention.
What is shaken baby syndrome
During the period of purple crying - up to 18 months of life - the newborn is often subject to prolonged and inconsolable crying, not due to a particular malaise, which are concentrated most of the times in the evening. In these situations - which generally peak in the second month of life, and then decrease almost completely after the first year of life - parents, often driven by a sense of helplessness and frustration, may be prompted to shake the baby to try to calm his crying, unaware of the serious physical and neurological risks to which they expose him. This is a behavior, in most cases carried out for a good purpose, which can however have fatal consequences for the newborn. Hence the need for a nationwide diffusion of this delicate issue, in order to sensitize parents and spread a correct culture of information so that what appears to be a simple affectionate gesture does not turn into a tragedy with devastating consequences.
Shaken child syndrome, a phenomenon still little known in Italy
As we said, the shaken child syndrome is still a little known phenomenon in Italy, and therefore more difficult to diagnose. In fact, there is still no national database that collects the cases identified, but it is assumed that indicatively the numbers in Italy are in line with those reported in the United States of America, with 30 cases out of 100,000 born per year. The most advanced hospitals in our country regarding the early diagnosis of child maltreatment declare the need for substantial information for the prevention of this syndrome. We hope that the intelligent and sensitive campaign launched by Terre des Hommes will be a real concrete step in this direction.
