RALEIGH - UNC is partnering with Duke University to take on a $7 million project to heighten awareness about shaken baby syndrome.
The issue is a nationwide concern, as 1,200 to 1,400 babies are treated every year after being shaken.
The new program, announced Tuesday, is the largest one in the country, and it aims to inform parents and caregivers in North Carolina about shaken baby syndrome.
"This is a crime of ignorance and (caregivers) running out of emotional support," said Dr. Desmond Runyan, a UNC professor of social medicine and pediatrics.
Many babies are shaken when they won't stop crying, and parents and caregivers become frustrated.
"It's something a lot of parents do not know about," said Heidi Hennink-Kaminski, a UNC journalism professor who is involved in the campaign.
After her 7-week-old son, Christopher, was shaken by a family member, Jennipher Dickens of Windsor became a spokeswoman for preventing SBS.
Christopher remained in the pediatric intensive care unit for almost two weeks. He now has permanent brain damage.
At Tuesday's press conference, Dickens offered some advice for parents and caregivers.
"Put the baby down in a safe place and walk away," she said. "Realize that crying is a phase. All babies cry. It's their way of communication."
Runyan said babies' brains are not yet solidified, so when a baby is shaken, its brain moves in its skull.
There are about 100 N.C. hospitals where babies are delivered, and now new parents at those hospitals will receive a DVD and 11-page brochure. The materials are part of a five-year awareness campaign.
Part of the $7 million - which comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Duke Endowment - will go toward these materials that will inform parents and caregivers about how to deal with fussy babies.
Many infants who are shaken end up with hemorrhages behind their eyes and some with bone fractures to their limbs, Runyan said. Twenty-five percent of affected children die, and the rest are severely disabled.
Dangers of SBS include blindness, cerebral palsy and learning disabilities.
"It's the most preventable child abuse," said Robert Murphy, executive director for the Center for Child and Family Health in North Carolina. "Our hope is to capitalize on something that has entered the public discourse."
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