A father, visibly exasperated, who screams in the face of his crying baby: “Here you go! All you know how to do is cry! I’m sick of you!” Then a jerk that can be seen through un baby monitor. This is the chilling message of a twenty-two-second video published Monday, January 17 by the Secretary of State in charge of Children and Families. Objective: to inform about shaken baby syndrome, also called non-accidental head trauma (TCNA).
Every year, several hundred children are victims of it. “This abuse, perpetrated voluntarily by adults, sometimes in denial of the seriousness of their act, represents the most serious form of head trauma in children, can we read in the press release. In France, 1 baby out of 10, victim of shaking, dies, the others will suffer the consequences all their life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ddzMAiK3hM
Several hundred children are victims each year of this syndrome, with a peak incidence between two and four months. The abusing adult is rarely shaken only once: shaken babies have been shaken on average ten times, according to data published in 2017 by the High Authority for Health.
“Jerkings are gestures of extreme violence that have nothing to do with an awkward gesture of everyday life, nor with play, like throwing a child in the air”, explains Anne Laurent-Vannier who chaired the working group devoted to this disorder within the HAS.
Adults who lose patience with a baby should not hesitate to “share their fears and doubts” and “ask for help”, insist the designers of this communication campaign. If the adult is overwhelmed, he can always lay the baby on his back and leave the room, because “There is no danger in leaving him alone in this position”, underline the specialists.