Child Abuse Jumps In Chattanooga
Pediatricians in Chattanooga are again sounding a community alarm about child abuse.
Seven months ago, pediatricians at Erlanger Medical Center held a child abuse prevention news conference. They called reporters after treating six babies for traumatic brain injuries from being shaken by caregivers in a single week, including two babies who died.
The hospital’s chief of pediatrics said Tuesday she has seen nine physical child abuse cases in the past six weeks.
In November, hospital officials said the reasons could be related to holiday stress, financial pressures and unemployment.
Dr. Annamaria Church said Tuesday she can’t explain the recent cases, unless it might be the heat.
Church told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that parents know the frustrations but “what isn’t normal is to lash out toward a child.”
