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sudden infant death syndrome case study
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sudden infant death syndrome case study
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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Many questions about the causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), also known as “crib death,” are still unresolved. The mysterious and elusive nature of SIDS creates problems, doubts, and more questions. This paper will present some of the most commonly asked questions as well as the answers that have been uncovered by scientists after years of research and study.
In 1969, researchers agreed to define SIDS as “the sudden death of an infant or young child, which is unexpected by history, and in which a thorough postmortem examination fails to demonstrate an adequate cause of death” (Bergman, 1970).
What Causes SIDS?
The cause or causes of SIDS are still unknown. Most researchers now believe that babies who die of SIDS are born with one or more conditions that make them vulnerable to both internal and external stresses that occur in the normal life of an infant. Most deaths from SIDS occur by the end of the sixth month with the greatest number taking place between two and four months of age. A SIDS death occurs quickly and is often associated with sleep, with no signs of suffering. More deaths are reported in the winter months and most victims are boys, with a sixty-to-forty percent male-to-female ratio.
How Many Babies Die from SIDS?
From year to year, the number of SIDS deaths tends to remain constant despite fluctuations in the overall number of infant deaths. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) report...
a baby ranging from low birth weight and abnormalities to death. There are a few government
Picture yourself with a brand new child, Holding it in your arms, comforting it, and putting it back to rest in its crib. Then you go about your day at home when all of a sudden the baby starts to cry very loud and doesn't stop. You start getting frustrated so you walk to where the baby is at and start to shake it so it will be quiet. After about ten seconds it calms down, and then falls asleep again. The baby doesn't cry again for a long time so you go back to check on it about two hours later. You notice the baby isn't moving, breathing, or showing any signs of life. What you don't know is that you just committed a murder called Shaken Baby Syndrome. Another term that is close to Shaken Baby Syndrome that I will be discussing in my paper is Abusive Head Trauma.
Sudden infant death syndrome ( SIDS) is the greatest cause of infant deaths ranging from ages one month to one year. Most of these deaths occur before the age of six months. Normally, any unexplainable infant death is considered to be due to SIDS. Numerous attempts have been made to discover the exact cause of this syndrome. However,the only known pathology is that SIDS is due to a dysfunction or abnormality in the cardiac and/or respiratory systems. To this point, an exact and definite cause has not been named. This paper will attempt to present several of the proposed and hypothesized causes of SIDS.
Neonatal nursing is a field of nursing designed especially for both newborns and infants up to 28 days old. The term neonatal comes from neo, "new", and natal, "pertaining to birth or origin”. Neonatal nurses are a vital part of the neonatal care team. These are trained professionals who concentrate on ensuring that the newborn infants under their care are able to survive whatever potential life threatening event they encounter. They treat infants that are born with a variety of life threatening issues that include instances of prematurity, congenital birth defects, surgery related problems, cardiac malformations, severe burns, or acute infection. Neonatal care in hospitals was always done by the nursing staff but it did not officially become a specialized medical field until well into 1960s. This was due to the numerous advancements in both medical care training and related technology that allowed for the improved treatment and survival rate of premature babies. According to the March of Dimes, one of every thirteen babies born in the United States annually suffers from low birth weight. This is a leading cause in 65% of infant deaths. Therefore, nurses play a very important role in providing round the clock care for these infants, those born with birth defects or other life threatening illness. In addition, these nurses also tend to healthy babies while their mothers recover from the birthing process. Prior to the advent of this specialized nursing field at risk newborn infants were mostly cared for by obstetricians and midwives who had limited resources to help them survive (Meeks 3).
…The infant had been born with anencephaly, or lack of cranial development. The infant’s skull was an open sore that the nurses packed and layered with gauze to give his face a round appearance. Because of lack of cerebral hemispheres, the infant was incapable of any conscious activity. After his birth, the infant was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and placed in a bassinet. He was reported to be kicking and breathing, and his ...
An estimated 1,000 to 3,000 children die each year from it. SBS occurs when a frustrated caregiver or parent of a baby violently shakes the baby in an attempt to subdue crying. Punishable by charges of child abuse and homicide, it’s not taken lightly. Since a baby has weak neck muscles and a larger head, it’s more susceptible to brain damage. When shaken, the brain bounces around inside the skull, damaging tissues causing bruising, bleeding and swelling. This results in either severe brain damage or death. Symptoms of SBS include retinal bleeding, damage to the spinal cord and neck and rib fractures. Often, babies display lethargy, convulsions, difficulty breathing, irritability and convulsions. If the baby survives the surgery to try to repair damages within the brain, they will develop either cerebral palsy or cognitive impairment. This leads us to the disorders of the brain that patients are born
Miehl, N. (2005). Shaken baby syndrome. Journal of Forensic Nursing 1(3), 111-117. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.parkland.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=5afd0ec9-9244-4874-888f-58b9a8746292%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4214
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or "crib death" is an abrupt and inexplicable death of an apparently healthy infant. Most of the cases involve infants from ages 1-12 months, and the event occurs during the night. Various theories have been postulated from research results but without consistency of the etiology. Since the death is sudden, prior diagnostic criteria or patterns are not available for correlation, although some near-miss infants have been followed. A number of possibilities have been documented in current literature, to include beta-endorphin changes, abnormal temperature regulation, pineal abnormalities, carotid body irregularities, lead poisoning, elevated fetal hemoglobin, brainstem immaturity, and cerebral hypoperfusion. The following is an overview of these pathologies in their relation to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
She was a 24-week-old premature infant. I had never seen anything so fragile yet so resilient in my life. Every time she took a breath her lungs would completely collapse. To inhale, she had to pull everything up from on her back, out from her rib cage, and inflate her lungs. She was a powerhouse! Instinctively doing everything she could to stay alive. She died hours later. She was the youngest and smallest infant ever to be born alive at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.We will never know her full potential, and the loss of the opportunity for someone to become an asset to society is something that I cannot tolerate. Thus, my desire to become a neonatologist was affirmed.
In conclusion, the specifics of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome are not very well known. Even today, research is still being carried out to determine the exact cause of this silent disease. Until that time comes, the public must rely on preventative tips in order to reduce the frequency of this disease infiltrating more families.
Not only are these children affected for the rest of their lives, but the offender, in many countries, will face criminal charges for having shaken the child. Since prevention is better than cure, it is imperative that people are educated about SBS via various platforms. Furthermore, high-risk parents, and all parents in general, should have great support from family and close friends to assist them in times when they are overwhelmed. This is only natural given the demanding nature of raising children. Notwithstanding this truth, SBS is preventable and no one should ever shake a baby.
Twenty five to thirty percent of babies shaken die (National Shaken Baby Syndrome). Immediate medical attention can help reduce the impact of shaking, but many children are left with permanent damage from the shaking. The treatment of survivors falls into 3 major categories. Those categories are medical, behavioral, and educational. In addition to medical care, children may need speech and language therapy, vision therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and special education services. (Showers, 1997) Many incidents of Shaken Baby Syndrome are not reported out of fear. It is important to seek immediate and early medical attention. Serious complications and even death can be avoided.
number of deaths due to SIDS, it accounts for only a small percentage. It is a
In 1998 NCANDS (National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System) calculated the Fatalities by Maltreatment, Child Abuse...
Porter, Theresa and Gavin, Helen (2010) "Infanticide and Neonaticide: A Review of 40 years of research literature on incidence and causes". Trauma Violence Abuse 2010 pp. 99-112.