Protecting little ones

Protecting little

ones

SRMC working with

Clayton County DFACS to increase public awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome

Shaken Baby

Syndrome (SBS) is a condition that occurs after a baby is shaken so violently

that the blood vessels connecting the brain to the skull are torn.

Of the 2,000

children who die each year from abuse or neglect, an estimated 10 to 12

percent die from SBS. Another 18,000 children suffer permanent disabilities

such as paralysis, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and developmental

delays.

According to

Cathy Ratti, director of the Clayton County Department of Family and Children

Services (DFACS), two infants have died in Clayton County in the last

three years as a result of SBS and numerous other injuries have been attributed

to it.

Clayton County

DFACS is distributing door hangers to new mothers through the month of

November to increase awareness of SBS and to help prevent it.

They have asked

Southern Regional Medical Center to assist with these preventive efforts.

The door hangers will be presented to new mothers at Southern Regional's

Women's Center.

Since stress

management is the key to SBS prevention, the door hangers provide suggestions

for parents on what to do when their baby cries and what to do if they

feel themselves getting frustrated with the crying.

The Clayton

County DFACS and Southern Regional Medical Center want to spread the message

to parents that they must never shake a baby, because it can cause permanent

brain damage or even death.

For more information,

call the Clayton County Department of Family and Children Services at

770-473-2300.

Southern Regional

Health System provides comprehensive health resources including: Southern

Regional Medical Center, a 410-bed, full-service hospital in Riverdale

featuring a state-of-the-art outpatient surgery center, a women's center

and one of the busiest and best emergency departments in the state; RiverWoods,

Southern Regional Psychiatric Center, a psychiatric facility with a complete

continuum of behavioral care services; Southern Regional Homecare, a home

health agency providing home health services and home medical equipment

and Surgery Center at Mt. Zion, a multi-specialty surgery center in Morrow.