http://www.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20090723-156649.html
Baby girl hits sarong cradle and suffers brain damage
She hit the metal frame of her sarong cradle while sleeping and now, the infant may never live past the age of 20.
Afflicted with brain damage, doctors say that the four-month-old baby girl may also lose her ability to walk and talk.
Her father, Mr Lim, a Malaysian national working in Singapore, hopes that Singaporean doctors would be able to save his child, reported Shin Min Daily News.
Recalling the incident, the 32 year old electrician said: "That afternoon, my mother-in-law sensed that there was something wrong with my daughter. She looked very uncomfortable and refused to drink milk for two hours. Worried, we sent her to the hospital, where the doctor found blood clots and fluid accumulation in her brain."
Mr Lim also told the Chinese daily that his daughter had been sleeping in the sarong cradle on the day of the incident. As she had not been moved from the cradle, his family surmised that her head injury was caused by a hit to its metal frame.
The incident happened in the town of Sungei Petani, Kedah, where Mr Lim's family currently resides.
When interviewed by Shin Min, neurologist Dr Su Hua Qiang said that a baby's skull plates are not fully developed at three months of age and are very fragile.
"When infants are constantly shaken from side to side, there is a possibility that their brains are affected.
"So when a baby suffers from a hard knock, they experience something that resembles a stroke. Their brains bleed and there are blood clots, affecting their growth and development."
Dr Su also pointed out the degree of the infant's disability is dependent on the type of head injury. However, once disabled, her lifespan would also decrease correspondingly.
"The baby would be more susceptible to colds, but we won't be able to detemine how long will she be able to live for," he said.
There may be hope yet - As the infant's body is still developing, she may be able to regain some of its functions.
Nonetheless, Dr Su discourages parents to put their babies in sarong cradles as they are unsafe.
"The baby may fall off. And if people accidentally bump into the cradle, the baby's head may knock into surrounding objects," he said.
