Shaking syndrome occurs when a child shakes violently, and it is usually considered a reaction to his unbearable crying, resulting in a trauma in the brain resulting in neurological complications that may lead to death.

Writer Mirim Shasta, in a report on the Italian website "Pembe Sani e Pelli", that the "Land of Humans" - which is one of the largest movements to defend the rights of children in the world - collected a list of information for the benefit of parents and educators, about the risks involved in shaking Baby. The Italian Pediatric Society published this list on its official website.

Here we provide the most prominent of this information:

1- What is the shaking syndrome of a child?
"Shaking child syndrome" is the result of a serious form of physical harm mainly experienced by children under the age of two years in general within the family. In the first months of life, newborn neck muscles are weak and cannot support the head. Therefore, if the child is strongly rocked, the brain moves freely inside the skull, causing bruising, swelling and bleeding in the tissues any serious injury.

2- At what age is the peak of this phenomenon?
The author confirmed that the shaking syndrome of the child occurs between two weeks and six months of age, which corresponds to the maximum period of intensity of newborn crying and the age that the child does not yet control the head and the bone structure is very fragile.

3- What are the causes of this "syndrome"?
The author explained that shaking the child in general is the response to the "intolerable" cry, which adults often fail to understand. Feeling helpless can cause inappropriate behaviors (such as shaking) even unconsciously in an attempt to calm the baby. Often, shaking occurs specifically at the hands of the parents or educators with whom we share childcare, such as grandparents, nannies, and nursery educators.

4- What are the damages caused by violent shaking?
The author stated that the consequences of shaking syndrome can be of varying severity. The neuropsychiatric damage caused by the shaking appears from the first months of the child’s life, whether on the motor or linguistic level, is represented by memory and language disorders, physical disabilities, poor eyesight or blindness, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, psychomotor and mental retardation, and the inability to learn and focus.

In general, these consequences depend on the extent of the child's injury and it is estimated that only 15% of cases do not affect the child's health.

5- Can shaking syndrome cause death?
Shaking syndrome can also cause a child to fall into a coma or even die, which is what happened with up to 25% of cases diagnosed.

6- What are the behaviors that parents should avoid when the baby cries?
The author stated that the crying of a child during the first months of his birth is considered unbearable for the parents. Indeed, crying is a mechanism for a mother to communicate with her newborn, through which he expresses his hunger, drowsiness, or a feeling of cold or free, or his need to change diapers, or his desire to embrace his mother and caress him for him to feel comfortable. Whatever the reason, parents should avoid shaking him to calm him down, as this behavior may harm the child.

7- What behaviors must be done to calm the child when crying?
The writer provided the parents with many other solutions to try to calm the baby when crying like shaking him on the wheelchair gently, taking him on a tour of the car, bathing him, and preventing annoying sounds like a hair dryer or a vacuum cleaner.

8- What if crying becomes crazy?
If the crying does not stop and becomes unbearable, the best thing to do is to leave the child in a safe place and stay away from him until he regains his normal state, the writer added. It is also important for parents to know how to seek help from family members and other friends and to see a doctor if there are doubts about his health.

Shaking syndrome is not always easy to identify, but its symptoms generally include vomiting, loss of appetite, difficulty absorbing or swallowing, severe irritability, lethargy, absence of smiles or speech, stiffness, breathing difficulties, difficulty in controlling the head and frequent crying, and in the most serious cases the infant develops cramps and concussion, and even Heart and respiratory attacks.