CVMC Knits Over 400 Caps for New Patients

FOR RELEASE (PHOTO ATTACHED):

October 18, 2011

Recession Impacts Youngest CitizensCatawba Valley Medical Center Knits Over 400 Caps for New Parents

HICKORY, NC— If you think babies aren’t impacted by the recession, think again. A study published in the October 2011 issue of Pediatrics highlights the fact that the economic downturn can have dangerous, even fatal consequences for infants. A group of researchers, headed by Dr. Rachel Berger at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, showed a significant rise in the incidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma (SBS/AHT) since the start of the recession in 2007. Frustration with a baby’s crying is the number one trigger for the violent shaking that can result in SBS/AHT. The added stress placed on families during hard economic times can make handling a crying infant overwhelming. That makes prevention efforts even more important during the current recession.

To help parents of newborns deal with the inevitable stress brought on by their baby’s inconsolable crying, hospitals are responding by educating parents about the Period of PURPLE Crying. This describes a stage when normal, perfectly healthy babies can cry for five hours a day or more. Since January 2009, over 800 hospitals and organizations have implemented the program.

Catawba Valley Medical Center volunteers assisted in rolling out the program by knitting over 400 purple caps, which will be distributed to new parents during the month of November. According to Polly Shook, CVMC Auxiliary President, “The purple caps are designed to remind new parents that it’s normal for their new baby to cry without explanation during the developmental stage from around two weeks to four months. Although frustrating for parents and other caregivers, the program is designed to let them know that what they are experiencing is normal and will pass.” For more information about Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma or about the Purple Caps program, visit http://www.dontshake.org or http://www.purplecrying.info.

Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, N.C., is the region’s largest not-for-profit, public healthcare system and serves the community without direct funding from taxes. CVMC provides and promotes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventive medicine and acute care. CVMC has received three Magnet designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and has been recognized for providing “An Outstanding Inpatient Experience” for a fourth consecutive year by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information, please visithttp://www.catawbavalleymedical.org.

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