More than one child a day in France is diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. Faced with this mistreatment which can be fatal, the government launched an awareness campaign on Monday.
It is a gesture of anger, of nervousness which can prove to be irreversible. How to prevent it? This is the subject of an awareness campaign launched this Monday, January 17, 2022 by the government.
This national campaign eagerly awaited by players in the sector shows nothing but lets hear the voice of a father who “loses the pedals” and verbally attacks his child. ” I’m fed up, you’re ruining my life, all you can do is cry! he yells. According to the High Authority for Health (HAS), the abusing adult is rarely shaken only once: shaken babies have been shaken ten times on average.
Marie Lemeille, co-founder of the Association Stop Shaken Baby, hopes that such a campaign will help raise awareness that there is no such thing as a “shaker”, that it happens in all social circles. The idea is to make parents, but also early childhood professionals aware of the actions to adopt in the event of an overflow of emotions.
We can sometimes be exasperated. It doesn’t matter, it’s human. it can happen to anyone. In any case, you have to put the child in safety if you can’t take it anymore, if you no longer know how to meet his needs.
Marie Lemeille, co-founder of the Stop Shaken Baby association
According to figures from the High Authority for Health in France, at least one baby is a victim of this type of abuse every day. In fact, probably a lot more. Hemiplegia, paraplegia, blindness, epilepsy, cognitive impairment, psychomotor retardation and autism… The consequences of such abuse are very serious, because following the shaking, bleeding inside the skull and eyes can occur. For three-quarters of them, this violent gesture leads to lifelong brain damage and in 1 in 10 cases, infant death.