BIRMINGHAM – Alabama officials have begun an effort to reduce the number of preventable deaths in children through age 3.
The Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention says the goal is to reduce shaken-baby syndrome and unsafe sleeping environments. It says those are the leading causes of preventable deaths in the very young.
The program was launched on Wednesday in Jefferson County.
The Birmingham News says officials illustrated with an electronic doll how only a few seconds of forceful shaking that makes a baby’s head flop can cause permanent brain damage or death.