SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The strain of our lagging economy on families is showing up in emergency rooms. A study in the October issue of Pediatrics shows the incidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome has nearly doubled since the downturn began.
The research was done on children under the age of five in several states. Utah was not one of those studied, but doctors at Primary Children’s Medical Center say are numbers are the same.
More than 2-thousand children were taken to a Utah Family Support Center crisis nursery in the past year. Dr. Lori Frasier from Primary Children's Medical Center says they are the lucky ones.
She says an infant crying, combined with life stress, can cause a life threatening situation for a child. She says it’s important for parents to reach out. "Getting somebody to help you, just let the baby cry, don't do anything to them, because crying seems to be the trigger for this kind of serious physical abuse."
Dr. Frasier says a quarter of all shaken babies die, and another fifty percent have irreversible brain damage. The new research shows an association between recession stress, and parents who snap.
Mariah Griffith from The Family Support Center says the number of kids being dropped off at crisis nurseries in the Salt Lake Valley has increased 25 percent in the past year. She says parents fill out an anonymous questionnaire that leads staff to believe they are saving lives.” They themselves acknowledge there was a very high chance of negative things happening."
Shaken Baby Syndrome is now happening in all economic classes, and where unemployment is up, so is abuse.
Dr. Frasier says the economy appears to be taking a toll. “The families seem a lot more stressed. We see one parent without a job trying to provide care, or parents who are tired and trying to work different shifts. People are challenged to find daycare they are stressed, and they have babies, and children, which is a hard job all by itself."
At the free crisis nurseries in the Salt Lake Valley, Griffith says there are no tough questions, or condemnation, just congratulations. "You are not under any judgment in fact we applaud you for using the service."
But Dr. Frasier says not everyone has access to a crisis nursery and she says everyone needs to help. "If you see a mom who is stressed, if you see a family in your neighborhood who is stressed, if you have time, step in and help them." She recommends babysitting for an hour or two, taking over a meal, or just talking.
The recession has also taken a toll on the crisis nurseries who serve children in need. The State cut funding by 100-thousand dollars this year. The Family Support Center is also in need of support to keep the doors open. To find out more you can visit their website at
www.familysupportcenter.org 
