KENS-5 Presents: Shaken Baby Simulator

ANCHOR: Hundreds of babies die every year from a preventable health problem: Shaken
Baby Syndrome. Now University Hospital is using a high-tech doll to demonstrate how
adult frustration can damage lives in a matter of seconds. Wendy Rigby has the story, new
at five.
[intro music]
JENNIFER: Yay! Good job.
WENDY: Ian looks like any other two-year old playing with blocks and learning about his
world, but his mother will tell you, “Everyday is a miracle.”
When he was six-months old, Ian was staying with an unlicensed daycare provider when the
unthinkable happened.
JENNIFER: He was throwing up. He had a really high-pitched cry, and, you know, like something
was hurting him so at that point I took him to the ER.
WENDY: Tests showed Ian had been violently shaken. Not only can the brain be injured,
but blood vessels also break causing bleeding between the brain and the skull and bleeding
on the inside of the back of the eyes.
University Hospital is trying to prevent such tragedies with an educational tool: this doll
named Hope.
If you shake the baby and the head flops around the brain lights up showing the devastating
injuries you would cause.
Shake the baby enough and it stops crying.
KATE: Crying can be a very frustrating event when it goes on for hours or when it’s unpredictable
or when someone tries to sooth their baby and can’t seem to find out what’s wrong.
WENDY: Baby Hope is a stark reminder that a few seconds of rage can be devastating to
a baby.
IAN: [baby talk]
WENDY: After surgery to get rid of the bleeding, Ian is now one of the 15 percent who survived
his ordeal with no symptoms. His mother said she’ll never try to save money on daycare
again.
JENNIFER: If I could go back I would rather pay, you know, to have a certified childcare
provider rather than opting for, you know, trying to save money and having something
like this happen.
WENDY: The $700 shaken baby simulator was donated to University, by the National Exchange
Club of San Antonio. Nurses are taking it to high schools and teen pregnancy centers
to educate young parents about the dangers of losing your cool.
Reporting live, Wendy Rigby KENS-5, Eyewitness News.