Sacred Heart Women's Hospital has recently purchased a state-of-the-art newborn simulator to teach new and expectant parents the damage shaking a baby can cause.

This life-sized simulator is equipped with technology that can measure the force on the brain when shaken. The simulator's head is made up of a transparent vinyl cover with LED lights on the brain that indicate the damaged areas of the brain in real time. The simulator can also simulate an infant's cry, which becomes more shrill and high-pitched the longer it is on. Once the simulator is shaken, the simulator begins to stop crying as more brain damage occurs.

"We felt that by educating our patients and their families with this very visual simulator that we could make an impact on decreasing the number of infants that fall victim to this tragic occurrence," says Niki Dey, patient care manager for the newborn nursery and postpartum services at Sacred Heart Women's Hospital.  "So many times, a family or caregiver does not realize how easy it is to injure a child by shaking them, and this is a great way to provide preventive education."

Sacred Heart plans to introduce this simulator into its childbirth preparation and newborn parenting classes to show parents the dangers of shaken baby syndrome.

Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is a form of inflicted head trauma that can be caused by direct blows to the head, dropping or throwing a child, or shaking a child. Head trauma is the leading cause of death in child abuse cases in the United States.

Unlike other forms of inflicted head trauma, SBS results from injuries caused by someone vigorously shaking a child. Because the anatomy of infants puts them at particular risk for injury from this kind of action, the vast majority of victims are infants younger than 1 year old. The average age of victims is between 3 and 8 months, although these injuries are occasionally seen in children up to 4 years old.

The perpetrators in these cases are most often parents or caregivers. Common triggers are frustration or stress when the child is crying. Unfortunately, the shaking may have the desired effect: although at first the baby cries more, he or she may stop crying as the brain is damaged.

SBS often causes irreversible damage. In the worst cases, children die due to their injuries.

Children who survive may have:
. partial or total blindness
. hearing loss
. seizures
. developmental delays
. impaired intellect
. speech and learning difficulties
. problems with memory and attention
. severe mental retardation
. cerebral palsy

Sacred Heart Women's Hospital is Northwest Florida's only dedicated women's hospital, serving the needs of women in all stages of life. Sacred Heart is also the area's childbirth leader, with over 3,700 babies born each year.

For more information on services at Sacred Heart Women's Hospital, please call (850) 416-1600 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.

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