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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
VICTORIA – Government is investing
$1.4 million in an education and prevention program that will give every new
parent in B.C. resources and information to better understand inconsolable
crying in infants and help lower the incidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome, Children and Family Development Minister Tom
Christensen announced today.
Christensen also proclaimed April 11, 2008 as Child Abuse Prevention
Day.
“The health and safety of children and youth in B.C. is the first priority of the Ministry of Children and Family Development,” said Christensen. “By providing Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome BC with $1.4 million over four years, our goal is to significantly reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by Shaken Baby Syndrome – a violent form of child abuse.”
Over the coming year, new parents will receive educational
materials called The Period of PURPLE Crying.
The package consists of a 10-minute DVD and an 11-page booklet, available in
English and six other languages. The materials will help new parents and
caregivers understand normal crying patterns in young infants and provide
strategies to help cope with periods of inconsolable
crying.
Research has shown that shaking
babies is both common and a leading cause of infant mortality. Each year in
British Columbia, five to 15 children will suffer traumatic
brain injury from shaking and require hospitalization. One in four will die,
and of those who survive, approximately 80 per cent will suffer from some form
of life-long brain injury, such as cognitive impairment, developmental delays,
blindness or cerebral palsy.
“Staff at BC Children’s Hospital know all too well how devastating the
consequences of shaking a baby can be,” said Dr. Ronald Barr, professor
of pediatrics at the UBC Faculty of Medicine. “Prevention through the promotion
of practical, evidence-based tools to
help all parents and caregivers better understand normal infant crying – which
includes inconsolable crying that can worry, frustrate and anger parents and
caregivers – and how to manage that crying safely, is absolutely vital.”
In addition to the $1.4-million commitment from the Ministry of Children
and Family Development and $60,000 from BC Children’s Hospital
Foundation, Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome BC – a program of
BC Children’s Hospital, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority –
has received support and funding to
implement The Period of PURPLE Crying
from a range of partners, including:
·
BC Perinatal Health Program;
·
The Civil Forfeiture Office with the Ministry of Public Safety and
Solicitor General; and
· Fraser Health Acquired Brain Injury Program.
The Ministry of Health and B.C. health authorities will distribute the
program materials to parents through maternity and community health nurses and
health-care providers.
The Period of PURPLE Crying program
includes three action steps to guide caregivers, which include responding to
the baby with “comfort, carry, walk and
talk” behaviours, putting the baby in a safe place and then walking
away, and never shaking or hurting the baby to stop its crying. The
effectiveness of this program has been validated by research conducted at the
Child & Family Research Institute under Dr. Barr’s leadership in the Centre
for Community Child Health Research.
“In a recent two-week period, I attended to three babies who were
inconsolable criers that came through our ER,” said Sharron Lyons, emergency nurse at BC Children’s
Hospital. “The parents were so relieved when I explained what
The Period of PURPLE Crying was and to know that their child’s crying was
normal. This program is definitely going to save lives.”
Training of maternity and community health nurses and
other health-care providers is currently being conducted by Prevent Shaken Baby
Syndrome BC for the Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal, and Vancouver Island
health authorities. Training for the Interior and Northern health authorities
will be complete by the end of the year.
The announcement also marked Child Abuse Prevention Day, a day that reinforces the shared responsibility of all British Columbians in keeping children and youth safe.
To learn more about child abuse prevention, please
visit the Ministry of Children and Family Development website: http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/child_protection/
To
learn more about Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome BC please visit: http://www.dontshake.ca/
To learn more about BC Children’s Hospital programs and services please
visit: www.bcchildrens.ca
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contact: |
Communications Officer Ministry of Children and Family Development 250 818-4508 |
Communications Director BC Children’s Hospital, BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre 604 875-2301 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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