Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 364, Issue 9442, 9–15 October 2004, Pages 1340-1342
The Lancet

Research Letters
Infant crying and abuse

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17191-2Get rights and content

Summary

Child abuse and neglect are important causes of child morbidity and death. We assessed potentially detrimental parental actions induced by infant crying in 3259 infants aged 1–6 months, in the Netherlands. In infants aged 6 months, 5·6% (95% CI 4·2–7·0) of parents reported having smothered, slapped, or shaken their baby at least once because of its crying. The risks of detrimental actions were highest for parents from non-industrialised countries, those with either no job or a job with short working hours, and those who judged their infant's crying to be excessive. Clinicians should be aware of the risks of abuse in children known to cry a lot and should target interventions at parents to help them cope with this crying.

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