Don’t shake your baby: Beckley pediatrician warns parents of dangers of shaking a baby

BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — The first weeks home with a new baby can be exhausting. Some parents may feel they’ve done something wrong if they can’t get their baby to stop crying, but Dr. John Johnson, a pediatrician and owner of Beckley Pediatric Associates, said crying is normal.

“It’s tiring raising a baby. There’s no doubt,” said Dr. Johnson on Monday, June 10, 2024. “They’re going to wear you out, when they’re first born and they’re going to cry a lot, because it’s the only way they communicate.”

Dr. Johnson warned new parents to never shake a baby.

The American Society for the Positive Care of Children estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 American babies suffer from Shaken Baby Syndrome each year, and one fourth of the babies die.

Shaken Baby Syndrome occurs when a baby is injured from being shaken by a caregiver, and it is 100 percent preventable.

Dr. Johnson said a baby’s head size means that even shaking with very little force behind it can cause serious injury.

“Their head is way bigger than the rest of their body, and their neck muscles are weak,” explained Dr. Johnson. “So any time you shake a baby with that large of a head, it causes that back-and-forth movement, kind of a whiplash, which can tear blood vessels inside of the head, causing bleeding, pressure, brain damage, blindness, and even death.”

He added that injuries caused by shaking are more likely to be fatal or serious to a newborn than an injury caused by making hard impact with a wall, as an example.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed babies younger than a year old are at highest risk of being shaken, and Dr. Johnson said it is a more widespread form of child abuse than many people in southern West Virginia may realize.

While many resources are available for parents who feel overwhelmed due to alcohol or drug abuse, and agencies offer workshops to install car seats and to provide parents with information on making a home “baby proof,” many parents who struggle with a crying baby may believe help is unavailable in the region.

Dr. Johnson urged new parents to call their pediatrician if they are concerned about a baby crying. He said it is also a good idea to ask another adult to help care for the child.
“If you’re frustrated, I would say, get them checked,” advised Dr. Johnson. “Call in reinforcement. Back off, because it doesn’t take much pressure to hurt them.”

Parents who do not have a support network may reach out to a local church or to a Child Protective Services caseworker for assistance in dealing with a crying child.

CDC officials advise parents who feel frustrated by a crying baby to realize that crying is normal and not a sign that the parent is failing.

Shaking a baby is not ‘normal’ behavior, however, and is a form of child abuse.

According to CDC officials, an upset parent should make sure that a crying child is healthy, fed and dry.

If rubbing, rocking and soothing the baby does not help the baby to stop crying, CDC officials advised that a parent who is overwhelmed should put the baby in a crib, on her back, in a safe place and walk out of the room.

The parent may take time to calm down outside of the room, checking on the crying baby every five to ten minutes until the parent feels calm enough to pick the baby up again.

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