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BABIES CRY. While all parents know
this is inevitable, what some new parents
don’t always realize is how difficult it can
be when their baby cries a lot or seems
inconsolable.
The stress can mount. In some cases,
the situation can become so intense the
crying baby may be shaken to the point of
serious injury. Research shows crying is
a leading trigger in shaken baby syndrome.
Kadlec Regional Medical Center,
with the help of Kadlec Foundation,
has adopted The Period of PURPLE
Crying Program. It is designed to help
parents and caregivers better understand
normal crying patterns and how to
handle the frustration that comes with a
baby who won’t stop crying. The Period
of PURPLE Crying Program increases
education and awareness, ultimately
reducing and preventing the incidence of
shaken baby syndrome.
“This is an important message to get
out,” said Kadlec Birth Center nurse
Annie Debban, RN, BSN. “Many
new parents already have stress just
caring for the baby. When a baby cries
a lot, even normal crying, they can
get frustrated. We want to help them
understand what is normal, learn ways
to cope and reduce the likelihood they
will shake their baby out of frustration
and discouragement.”
Since its implementation in
November, every parent of a baby
born in Kadlec’s Birth Center receives
information about The Period of
PURPLE Crying and watches an
11-minute video about infant crying.
As a part of the discharge education
process, Kadlec nurses deliver the
program’s information, answer questions
and encourage parents to share the video
with other caregivers.
Kadlec’s program is part of a
community-wide effort, which is being
spearheaded by Lourdes Health Network.
Consequences of shaking can be severe
including blindness, physical disabilities,
learning disabilities or even death.
The letters in PURPLE stand for
the common parts of non-stop crying in
infants (see sidebar at right). The word
“period” is important in the name of the
program to emphasize that the crying
has a beginning and an end.
“The end message is that if a parent
can’t deal with it, put their baby in a safe
place, walk away and get some help,”
said Debban.
To help kick-off the program,
all babies born in November
were given hand-knitted
purple hats to remind
parents of The Period of
PURPLE Crying.
For more information about
the new program, call the
Kadlec Birth Center at
(509) 942-2688
.
Sharing the message of
PURPLE Crying
The Period
of
P
eak pattern
(crying peaks around
2 months, then decreases)
U
npredictable
(crying for long periods can
come and go for no reason)
R
esistant to soothing
(the baby may keep crying for
long periods)
P
ain-like
look on
face
L
ong bouts of crying
(crying can go on
for hours)
E
vening crying
(baby cries more in the
afternoon and evening)
Infant Massage
class offered
Learning how to massage your baby has
wonderful benefits for both baby and parent.
For the baby, massage can help with relaxation,
relieve pain from colic, aid in building a strong
immune system and more. For parents, massaging
your baby promotes bonding, increases confidence
in parenting skills and improves the ability to react
to infant cues.
Kadlec offers an Infant Massage class, which
is taught by its two certified instructors.
For more information about this
class, call
(509) 942-2660
.
For basic tips to
soothe a crying baby,
see
Pacesetter
online.
www.kadlec.org
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