Shaken Baby Syndrome
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: Shaken Baby Syndrome
Pages: 11
Rating: 3 stars
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Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is an incident that will forever change and affect the victimized child dramatically.
Most normal children are able to develop normally without deficits in areas of occupations or performance skills,
but a child with SBS may never be the same. The lasting effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome impact a child’s life in
areas of occupations such as social participation, play, and education.
Characteristics of Shaken Baby Syndrome
Etiology
Shaken Baby Syndrome is, “a condition of whiplash-type injuries, ranging from bruises on the arms and trunk to
retinal hemorrhages or convulsions, as observed in infants and children who have been violently shake, a form of
child abuse that often results in intracranial bleeding from tearing of cerebral blood vessels” (Jacobs & Jacobs,
2004, p. 214).
Signs/Symptoms
There are numerous signs and symptoms that characterize Shaken Baby Syndrome such as extreme irritability,
difficulty staying awake, breathing problems, poor eating, tremors, vomiting, pale or bluish color, seizures,
paralysis, and coma (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). The severity of symptoms is dependent on the severity of shaking
inflicted upon the child. A hallmark symbol of SBS could be hemorrhages in the retinas of the eyes (Blackman,
1990, p. 70) or absence of external injuries (Miehl, 2005, p. 113).
Risk Factors
Risk factors involve the child itself and the parent or caretaker. Risk factors for the child consist of male gender,
history of colic, prematurity, low birth weight, drug/nicotine/alcohol exposure, or withdrawal syndrome, special
needs or medically fragile and babies with poor bonding to caregivers (Meskauskas, Beaton, & Meservey, 2009, p.
326). Young parental age, unstable family environment, low soc...
essay on shaken baby syndrome
essay on shaken baby syndrome