Saudi Gazette The only way infants can communicate with their parents for the first few years of their life is through crying. And, babies cry all the time, it is perfectly normal. However, some babies cry much more than others, and some may cry at a specific time of the day. At times, mothers get frustrated when their young ones have been wailing fiercely and non-stop for hours. During these nerve racking hours mothers should hold the baby patiently until they stop crying. Over reacting and losing control has led many distressed mothers to violently shake their screaming babies in an attempt to quiet them. Studies have revealed that harshly shaking a baby poses 30 percent chance of death, 30 percent chance of mild injuries and a 30 percent chance of the infant suffering permanent physical or mental disabilities. The neck of a baby is a very sensitive area and the muscles around it do not fully develop until the baby is twelve months or above. Princess Adela Bint Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz,Vice President of the Saudi National Family Safety Program, has recently launched a new awareness campaign “Do not shake me!” to convey a message to parents from infants. The program has already taken off at the National Guard Hospital in Riyadh. Sincere efforts are being made to introduce this noble campaign in all regions of the Kingdom as well. The campaign was created in the King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh to educate mothers of various techniques to calm a cranky baby without resorting to violent shaking. Princess Adela is warning women against the practice of shaking a crying baby because it can lead to severe injuries in their tiny bodies. Many parents are unaware of the disorder ‘Shaken baby syndrome'; a few symptoms are brain injury, spinal cord injury, retinal hemorrhages in the eye and death. Studies of violence against infants in the Kingdom are insufficient and the statistics collected are incomplete. However, a large portion of infant mortality cases have been attributed to forceful shaking of the baby. A pediatrician at the National Guard Hospital in Riyadh, Dr. Maha Al-Munif, is overseeing the campaign. She stated that a total of 30 nurses, public health educators, and social workers at the hospital will be trained in educating mothers on how to cope with a fussy baby. Mothers must understand that the baby is not trying to annoy her, but that he is experiencing discomfort and needs his mother's soothing voice and gentle touch. Pregnant ladies will automatically receive an individual counseling session, when they come for their checkups. The project has won a prize in the King Khalid Charitable Foundation competition that supports and motivates the creation of human development programs in the Kingdom. __
