Shaken Baby Policy
Signs and Symptoms
You May Never Shake A Baby
In correlation of the general fraternization policy; specifically, interactions with children in your care, The learning Cottage LLC has a zero tolerance policy in regards to Child Abuse and The Shaken Baby Policy. Under no circumstances, may you shake a baby. Please also remember that you are a mandated reporter should you witness these kinds of actions, you must report them immediately to management.
The symptoms and signs of shaken baby syndrome
have an extremely broad range to display. This range is due to the nature of the inflicted trauma, including the frequency, duration, and whether the result of a single event or multiple events. Behavioral changes may include the following:
Physical changes associated with shaken baby syndrome may include the following:
- Bruising of the body due either to the grip strength of the individual inflicting trauma or as a consequence of hitting or being hit by blunt objects (for example, wooden spoons)
- Head trauma: bruising, swelling, and/or laceration of the scalp, deformity of the skull (commonly a depression due to a skull fracture)
- Inability of the infant eyes to track or focus on an object
- Abnormal increase in muscle tone or evidence of an increase in pressure of the structures of the skull (for example, brain)
- Seizures
- Hemorrhages of the retina
- Bleeding of the surrounding or supporting structures of the brain or in the brain substance itself (most frequently diagnosed via CT or MRI studies)
- Bleeding and/or drainage of clear fluid (spinal fluid -- clear fluid that surrounds the brain) from the nose or ear canal