MARION - Shaking an infant or toddler can cause brain damage, blindness, mental retardation, or even death. This condition, known as Shaken Baby Syndrome, happens when the sudden whiplash motion from shaking causes bleeding and swelling in the brain of a young child. It usually occurs when frustrated caretakers violently shake a child to stop him or her from crying.
According to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, this form of physical abuse causes the most deaths and accounts for the most long-term disability in infants and young children.
In order to prevent shaken baby syndrome, Marion County Children Services and the Marion Family & Children First Council have developed a comprehensive education program for parents of infants and toddlers in Marion County.
"While the incidence of shaken baby syndrome in Marion is not great, we do see it," said Children Services Director Eric Bush. "Even one child dying or suffering permanent disability from such a preventable, and often unintentional, form of abuse is one too many."
The program will be implemented through Help Me Grow, which serves expectant parents and parents of newborns, infants and toddlers.
Help Me Grow service coordinators personally contact new mothers in the county and make approximately 800 newborn visits each year.
The service coordinators will distribute information on infant crying and tips on how to cope. They will also discuss shaken baby syndrome and share with the new mother and father a poignant video titled "Portrait of Promise" that illustrates the devastating effects of shaking a baby. The new parents will receive a free baby bib imprinted with the message "Love me . . . NEVER shake me!"
This program is coordinated by the Marion Family & Children First Council and Marion County Children Services. Marion Correctional Institution Restorative Justice Program and Junior Service Guild have donated toward the cost of the program, and other community organizations have been invited to partner in this as well.
Photo: Marion City Public Health Nurse Erin Barnett (left) and Help Me Grow Service Coordinator Lori Stidham look over materials they will use in educating parents of newborns and toddlers on the dangers of shaking a baby
Marion County Children Services leads the community in the prevention, identification, and protection of abused and neglected children. Children Services coordinates intervention and support services in partnership with families and other community resources, working together to assure that Marion County children are safe and have permanent and stable homes.
Photo Right: Keegan Johnson, son of Children Services caseworker Jennifer Johnson and her husband, Shane, models a bib that will be given to parents through the Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention program.
