Children’s Launches Advocacy Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse

from School Health Reporter, Summer 2006

Child abuse was the leading cause of all trauma deaths at The Children’s Hospital in 2003, 2004 and 2005.  Tragically, more children died at Children’s from abuse at the hands of adults than they did from accidental events such as motor-vehicle crashes or falls.  In 2005, seven children admitted to Children’s ultimately died from complications related to child abuse.

Frequently, this abuse was identified as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). On average, about one child per week in 2005 was admitted to The Children’s Hospital with signs of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Shaken Baby Syndrome is a serious type of brain injury that occurs when an infant or toddler is severely or violently shaken. This shaking often leads to brain damage, hearing loss, blindness, speech or learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities or even death.

Clearly, the prevalence of child abuse in Colorado is taking a toll on our community, but the good news is that abuse is preventable. That’s where The Children’s Hospital comes in. The hospital has launched a comprehensive Shaken Baby Syndrome prevention campaign, aimed at increasing community awareness about the dangers of shaking a baby, and educating parents and caregivers about how to prevent this type of abuse. The Kempe Foundation for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect and Kohl’s Department Stores are our partners in this effort.

In many SBS cases, a baby who won’t stop crying is often the “trigger” that causes adult caregivers to lose control of their emotions and take their frustrations out on the baby.  Because crying is that trigger, the campaign will focus on a crying baby. In addition to spreading the word that shaking a baby is never OK and educating caregivers about what can happen when babies are shaken, the campaign also will provide parents and caregivers with steps they can take when the crying won’t stop.

A comprehensive radio, television and print campaign has been developed and will run throughout Colorado during 2006. A website has been developed to serve as a community resource for information about Shaken Baby Syndrome and how to prevent it: www.dontshakeababy.com.  Additionally, Children’s will be working with medical providers and other community entities to promote education about Shaken Baby Syndrome and distribute resource materials to parents and caregivers.

As school health professionals and advocates for children, there are a few things you can do to support this effort:

• “Pass it on.” Make sure anyone who has young children or cares for them knows that it is never OK to shake a baby.
• Visit www.dontshakeababy.com to download resource materials about Shaken Baby Syndrome and how to calm a crying baby. Or request copies of our “How to Calm a Crying Baby” brochure from Debbie Federspiel of The Children’s Hospital at federspiel.deborah@tchden.org. Anyone caring for a baby can become frustrated by continuous crying. The key is to ensure that parents and caregivers get the message that it is never OK to shake a baby before they find themselves in a frustrating situation and to connect them with steps for calming a crying baby – and themselves!
• Ask for help – or lend a hand! Taking a break or offering to give an exhausted or frustrated caregiver a break can help relieve tension and frustration.
• The Kempe Foundation for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect advocates for the prevention of all forms of child abuse.  Visit their site www.kempe.org for more ideas on how you can help.

It is our sincere hope that not only will this prevention effort help reduce the incidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome, but that it also will serve as a precursor to future public-policy efforts to support Shaken Baby Syndrome education and prevention in Colorado.