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This week, Monday 21 – Friday 25 September 2026, is ICON Week, which is dedicated to raising awareness about infant crying and how to manage it, supporting parents and carers, and preventing serious injuries, illnesses, and even fatalities caused by abusive head trauma, often resulting from shaking a baby.
ICON is an acronym for:
Today, we are focusing on the final letter in the ICON acronym:
 Never, ever shake or hurt a baby. It can cause lasting brain damage or death. If you are worried that your baby is unwell contact your GP or call NHS 111.
Parents and people looking after babies can sometimes get so angry and frustrated with a baby’s cry, they lose control and shake their baby. This is highly dangerous, leading to lifelong injuries and, potentially death. Check that the carers understand how to cope with crying before leaving their baby with them.
Studies show that a key trigger to a baby being shaken is the caregiver’s inability to stop an infant crying. The link between the normal age of Peak Crying is around 6 weeks to 3 months:
- 24 out of 100,000 hospital admissions for babies are due to abusive head trauma. 200 children are killed or hurt annually in the UK. These figures are likely to be much higher as it may not be recorded as abuse but considered accidental, or milder cases may not present to hospital. (Barlow and Minns 2000, cited by NSPCC)
- Human and Emotional cost for parents and families who have lost a child
- Hospital treatment including medical equipment and care
- Long-term health and learning needs
- Mental health care for parents and family members losing a child
- Legal and criminal costs
- Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) can be avoided with a multi-agency public health approach
Information provided from ICON website. For more information on never, ever shake a baby, please visit their website: ICON Week | Never Ever Shake a Baby
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The ICON website provides extensive material to promote that infant crying is normal. This includes a video's on 'Shaken' and 'Ellis’ Story. These are available in the following link: Never, ever shake a baby - ICON Cope.
The CSCP website also includes a number of resources, which can be used to promote ICON Week: CSCP ICON Page.
NHS - caring for a new born baby and soothing a crying baby.
Professionals should print copies of resources, where possible, to share with families during contact sessions/family time, and to display in public areas, to raise awareness of the ICON message.
If you know a family who needs support with Infant Crying, please signpost them to their midwife, GP or Health Visitor.
 Above paragraph provided by ICON
Babies cry. You can cope. Never, ever shake a baby.
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