Dead Babies...To Get It Off My Chest

[caddismt]

I was floating to the ED this AM and everything was peaceful with kidney stones and inflamed bursas when a mother came screaming in with the dreaded blue baby in a carrier. I assisted in coding her for three hours. She had a subdural hematoma and had been shaken. I was dismayed to learn that she had an anoxic brain injury from being shaken several months prior this.

I'm sick.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

I'm so sorry that you had to see this. Working in pediatrics, I have seen some very sad cases.

:icon_hug:

[emnicams]

how horrible...

whether the mother is the one who shook the baby or not... seeing as this is the second time this has happened, and mama (if you could call her that) did nothing to stop it, obviously... she is just as guilty.

poor baby.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I just cringe anymore when I read these stories. Many of us have horror stories.

To the OP - please talk this out with a trusted co-worker, pastor or counselor. Don't let it fester.

[justiceforjoy]

I will be smothering my daughter in snuggles and hugs tonight and sending a prayer up for that little baby. I'm sorry you had to see what you did. It is truly tragic.

how horrible...

whether the mother is the one who shook the baby or not... seeing as this is the second time this has happened, and mama (if you could call her that) did nothing to stop it, obviously... she is just as guilty.

poor baby.

I don't think it's fair to assume that the mother knew it was happening.

Possible scenario: Mom picks child up from daycare, child seems a little tired and cranky... "Oh, she's just sick!" The daycare provider says. Next day, kid's still a little sick... No biggy - kids gets sick! A few months down the line, she finds herself in that ER with a blue child.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I have always find it ironic that so many nursing students think of pediatrics as a "nice" specialty -- all full of cute kids and loving parents, etc. They think that going into peds as a specialty will be less stressful and more pleasant than careers in other specialties. After all, the kids are so cute! ... And the nurses get to play with them!

Yet, in reality, some of the most emotionally draining cases are in peds -- and peds nurses are required to be just as smart and just as mentally tough as nurses in other specialties.

I feel very sorry for the poor little kid in the OP -- and for all those involved who had to become involved in that tragic situation. But as other peds nurses have posted, such sad cases are more common than we would all like to think. There are just too many families out there who provide terrible homes for their children and our social welfare system is often too overwhelmed to prevent much.

[whipping girl in 07, RN]

I saw enough sad cases in my peds rotation in nursing school to know I never wanted to work peds.

I occasionally put a post-pyloric feeding tube in a peds and the cases are almost always sad and so preventable.

But I will never forget, as long as I live, the blue baby that came in through the ER when I was working admitting. SIDS. A year later I was pregnant with my first child, and as I got closer to my due date, every time I closed my eyes, I saw that baby. And heard that mother in the consultation room screaming when the doctor gave her the news. It brings tears to my eyes to this day, and it's been 14 years.

Talk to someone about it.

[feralnostalgia]

I live in an area where the foster care system is overwhelmed. They even send drug babies home with parents most of the time.

The reason: It's hard to take them away from the parents when you don't have a place to take the baby.

my state is like this, yet they just passed a big gay adoption ban. except, to make it constitutional they couldn't just pass a gay adoption ban, so they passed an everyone-not-married adoption ban. there were already 4 kids to every one foster care spot. "family values" my ass. it's downright depressing.

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

Can I ask a question that will seem remedial to most of you? Serious question. Want to seperate fact and fiction.

OP said this was an injury that happened from the baby being shaken awhile before the death. OK, I get that, Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Now, I remember hearing about this and also remember that it was not always a clear cut case of.........abuse, if you catch my drift. What I mean is, when I heard about it, they were talking about how some adults needed to be taught just how fragile babies are, that simple playing (who hasnt picked a baby up by the arms and let them fall a little down onto their bum......they laugh hystericaly) can cause these injuries.

So, my question is, did I hear right and something like this can happen with a parent who is just...........playing a little too rough and doesnt know better? Or does it take violent shaking to bring this on?

I saw OP said the shakeing took place, what, like two months before? Thats a long time for something to manifest. It probably did start out as somethig very very small, something that could come from.........the no ill will intended shake of playing or something. Or, was what I heard just not accurate?

I just want to know. Sorry you had to see this OP. Hope talking about it helps a little. But, I remember the news and people saying that injuries were happening with parents who were obviously not abusing the child and that education was needed to show what was too rough.

[blueheaven]

When I worked in a community hospital I had something like this happen except the child was 4 years old and horribly scarred (I won't go into it) we coded him for 2 hours (you know-the old rule they aren't dead until they are warm and dead). The parents had 2 other children that were NOT treated like this poor thing. Child services had been called several times and nothing done. My feeling is, if protective services has been called and nothing has been done, then some type of punishment should be meted out across the board. Get this...instead of being tried for murder the parents were tried for manslaughter and only got 7 years!!! GRRRRR They are out now, probably spawning more children.

[Kylea]

OP- I am so sorry you had to see this. No one should ever have to see that. Babies are precious, no matter what. Talk to a family member, clergy, co-worker, a therapist. Someone to help you through this. Even just us if we are all you are comfortable going to. As hard as it is, you can't let this keep you from being able to take care of the next one that comes in the door. I'm not advising that you forget about this little one, that would be impossible. Take what you can from it, file it away in that special part of your heart, and do everything you can to help the next one. And keep utilizing your resources (us!) to help you get through the emotional part.

[rn/writer, RN]

OP said this was an injury that happened from the baby being shaken awhile before the death. OK, I get that, Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Now, I remember hearing about this and also remember that it was not always a clear cut case of.........abuse, if you catch my drift. What I mean is, when I heard about it, they were talking about how some adults needed to be taught just how fragile babies are, that simple playing (who hasnt picked a baby up by the arms and let them fall a little down onto their bum......they laugh hystericaly) can cause these injuries.

So, my question is, did I hear right and something like this can happen with a parent who is just...........playing a little too rough and doesnt know better? Or does it take violent shaking to bring this on?

The kinds of catastrophic damage that occur in shaken baby syndrome come from what are called rotational forces--rapid and repeated whiplash-type motions that end up shearing neural connections, rupturing tiny blood vessels, and literally scrambling the infant's brain.

Playful plopping or even simple falls result in a linear force, which, while it does have the potential to do damage, is nothing like the devastation that occurs with shaking a baby.

I'm guessing the OP mentioned the earlier shaking information to point out a possible pattern. Two things come to mind. One is that if you have that kind of temper and you have responded by shaking in the past, you are predisposed to act that way again. And two, a baby who has brain damage (even if it isn't readily apparent) from prior shaking may not need much more force to finish the job.

This situation is indescribably sad. But to answer your question, parents can engage in normal bouncy play, though they do need to exercise some common sense. Simply plopping a baby on her bum to make her laugh will not destroy her fragile brain. Shaking her back and forth like a rag doll, on the other hand, can turn her mind to mush and steal every chance she has for a normal future.

The lucky ones die.

[emnicams]

I don't think it's fair to assume that the mother knew it was happening.

Possible scenario: Mom picks child up from daycare, child seems a little tired and cranky... "Oh, she's just sick!" The daycare provider says. Next day, kid's still a little sick... No biggy - kids gets sick! A few months down the line, she finds herself in that ER with a blue child.

I totally agree. Except that is not the scenario I got from the OP. What I got was that the baby was injured from being shaken a few months ago. Now the baby has been shaken AGAIN and died from it this time. If I read it wrong... my apologies, but that is the viewpoint where my 1st post was coming from.