According to Newsweek (r), 37% of parents and other caregivers are unaware that shaking babies is dangerous. More than 90% of people who are unaware are babysitters. Unfortunately, these caregivers account for almost half of reported incidents. Parents may only account for a little more than half of the incidents, but 60%-90% of the parents who shake are the father. For women, 98% of the shakers are babysitters not parents. All parents should be educated that playing too roughly or losing control and shaking the baby can cause death.
Children as old as five are vulnerable to Shaken Baby Syndrome but infants between two and four months are especially at risk. More than 60% of victims of Shaken Baby Syndrome are males. Babies with Downs Syndrome take less shaking than normal babies to die. Five year olds take more than twice as much shaking to die. If the baby doesn't die, they are likely to have retinal hemmorrages and be blind.
The number one reason a baby is shaken is because of inconsolable crying. Newborns cry an average of one to four hours a day. The vast majority of Shaken Baby Syndrome incidents occur when an infant is crying. Even though a baby is crying, there is no excuse for shaking him/her. Perhaps Dr. T. Berry Brazelton said it best when, in an interview with Pampers (r), he said, "Parents don't make mistakes because they don't care, but because they care so deeply."
Even though the only prevention is simply not shaking, there are a few things you can keep in mind for ways to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome. It is interesting to note that Hawaii's "Healthy Start" program has reduced abuse to 1% in high-risk families, compared with 20% in such families nationwide. Dr. T. Berry Brazelton said, "A nurse or pediatrician can help too, but a parent's best teacher will be the baby, whose special language-behavior can be observed and trusted." Three steps to prevention are: 1. Stop- put the child down and leave the room 2. Calm Down- call a friend to relax 3. Try Again- go try to calm the child down again