Never ever shake a baby (forwarded email)

December 4th, 2007, Jessica Sherwood had to do something no mother should ever have to do.

At 2:29 pm Jessica made a very tough, but the right decision to take her little 3 month old daughter off life support.

Jessica had a message that every one needs to know.

This is what Jessica said:

"If anyone has kids, make sure that you keep them with you the whole time. Don't give them to anyone that you don't trust. Trust me, I thought that I trusted Josh. But now as of December 4, 2007 at 2:29 AM, she is gone. My one & only baby. He is going to pay FOREVER, even if he gets out of jail scott free, he will be dead no matter what. To all my friends that know London, I am very angry & upset that I lost the love of my life, my baby girl. She died on her three month birthday .

London had six fractured ribs, both of her legs were fracture, & her brain was so damaged that if she were to live she would be a vegetable. So I did what was right & what was best for her & took her off life support.

That's what you call Shaken Baby Syndrome [SBS]"


For those of you who don't know what Shaken Baby Syndrome check out the facts:

Shaking, jerking and jolting can cause blood vessels in the head to tear or burst.

Shaken Baby Syndrome is the shaking of an infant or child by the arms, legs, or shoulders with or without impact of the head.

This trauma can result in bleeding and brain injury with no outward signs of abuse.

Often frustrated caregivers feel that shaking a baby or small child is a harmless way to make the child stop crying. However, a baby's brain and blood vessels are vulnerable to whiplash motions, such as shaking, jerking, jolting, and impact.

The neck muscles of an infant or small child are weak, so the child's head is relatively heavy and the neck cannot support the stress of shaking or impact.

Shaking a very young child, with or without impact of the head, can cause irreversible brain damage, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, spinal cord injury, seizures, learning disabilities, and even death.

It is tragic that healthy, intelligent babies are suffering these disabilities simply because their caregivers don't know about the dangers associated with Shaken Baby Syndrome.

An estimated 1,200 to 1,400 cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) occur each year in the United States.

Only 1 out of 4 babies dies of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

HOWEVER, the other three babies will need ongoing medical attention for the rest of their short lifespans.

Read more about SBS in http://www.dontshakeababy.com/aboutsbs.html#1