Many parents like to hold their baby and gently rock them when the baby is crying uncontrollably, but as the baby continues to cry, they may increase the force and amplitude of the rocking. In fact, rocking a baby is a very dangerous behavior. Let’s follow along with the editor to see why you should not shake a baby.
1. The dangers of violent shaking:
● At birth, a baby's head accounts for a high proportion of their total body weight, approximately 27%, which results in a top-heavy situation. Vigorously shaking the baby is extremely dangerous for their neck.
● For a 5-month-old baby, the brain, neck muscles, and cervical spine are still not fully developed. Violent shaking increases the risk of damage to the brain and cervical spine.
● In addition, when a baby is subjected to violent shaking, it can cause the brain tissue to collide with the harder skull, leading to the rupture of capillaries in the brain and resulting in intracranial hemorrhage.
● The vitreous body of a baby's eye is also very fragile and can be damaged by violent shaking, leading to retinal hemorrhage, which can affect the baby's vision and cause visual impairment.
● Babies have little strength in their bodies and are even less able to support their neck and head during violent shaking. This can lead to intellectual dullness, body paralysis, and in severe cases, death.
Therefore, never shake a baby. Babies are very fragile, and doing so can easily lead to accidents.
2. How to avoid tragedy?
1. While vigorous shaking is very dangerous for a baby, gentle, small, and slow rocking is acceptable, but it is important to control the force and intensity. Many parents believe that since they rocked their first child this way and nothing happened, it must be safe. In reality, it depends on the amplitude and frequency of the rocking. When gently rocking a baby, always support the baby's neck and head to provide stability. Additionally, do not keep the baby in a cradle or continuously rock the cradle.
2. Parents need to control their emotions.
When parents are very tired, their ability to control their temper diminishes, and they may end up shaking the baby violently. However, babies are young and do not understand what is happening. Their continuous crying may be a way of expressing their needs. Therefore, parents should not lose their temper and shake the baby violently, as the consequences could be devastating. At the very least, do not show your bad emotions in front of the child.
3. Avoid high-risk actions.
Avoid actions like tossing the baby high or swinging them with large amplitudes, as these pose a high risk of danger. These ways of entertaining the baby are essentially putting them in harm's way. Therefore, refrain from using such dangerous methods to amuse the baby.
