Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention & Awareness Program

As a provider of health care to parents and children, you can help prevent shaken baby syndrome (SBS) – brain damage that can cause death or lifelong disability.

Learn how University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) educates new parents about the dangers of shaking a baby and discover how to raise awareness among patients in your hospital or care facility.

UNMH’s Patient Education Program

Parents and guardians of all babies born at UNMH receive education aimed at increasing awareness of the dangers of SBS, and on improving their responses when an infant cries.

Our program is based on an initiative by Mark Dias, MD, FAAP, that reduced cases of SBS by 47 percent in New York State.

Program Goals

We hope to:

  • Expand this program into all New Mexico hospitals that have birthing facilities
  • Collect epidemiological data
  • Through universal participation, establish a statewide database to measure the incidence of SBS in New Mexico
  • Significantly reduce cases of SBS in the state

Program Tools

Programs can share this educational information with parents and caregivers. Contact us if you would like to arrange for training in your facility.