Search Results for: blog crying babies and the possibilities for abuse 2

Nebraska Safe Haven Law Now Applies Only to Newborns

Nebraska state legislators have changed the state’s “safe haven” law, which allowed a parent to leave a child with a hospital employee without fear of facing charges, to apply only to infants in the first month of life. Last spring, Nebraska became the last U.S. state to enact a safe haven law. These laws are intended to prevent frightened new parents from abandoning the baby in an unsafe place or from hiding and possibly killing the baby. In 49 states, the law specifies the age of the infants the law applies to. In some states the law applies to newborns … Continue reading →

Sleep Deprivation and Infant Abuse?

The CDC recently published a shocking report. According to their study, 91,000 infants per year are abused or neglected during their first year of life and about 33% of those abuse cases occur within the first week of life. Experts everywhere are calling for more focus to be put on this critical time period of mom adjusting to caring for a newborn. Especially if the newborn shows traits of being colicky or fussy. (I just have to point out here that most babies aren’t colicky or really fussy in the hospital.) While the statistics are shocking there are a few … Continue reading →

Crying Babies and the Possibilities for Abuse (2)

Posted on by

We looked at the three types of crying in infants in our previous article as well as the established notion that adults actually find the sound of a baby crying aversive. Today we will look at ways that parents attempt to overcome their natural instincts towards the sound of babies crying, and the varying levels of success in doing so. One of the most useful preparations for successful parenting is exposure via babysitting to easy-to-soothe babies. Babies do not come out of the womb with cookie-cutter personalities as any experienced parent knows only too well. Psychologically speaking, babies can be … Continue reading →

Crying Babies and the Possibilities for Abuse (1)

A baby’s cry is a survival mechanism as it draws attention to an infant in distress. Three distinct patterns of crying have been documented in newborns and it is interesting to observe the way primary caregivers relate to each of these specific crying patterns. The first type of cry is the so-called “rhythmic” cry, which consists of a regular pulsating sequence of cries and gasps. It usually denotes that baby is uncomfortable, hungry or bored. The second type of cry is labeled the “mad” cry and occurs when the infant is frustrated, as would occur if a feeding baby were … Continue reading →