A Swedish study showed that those who have a traumatic and
painful birth are more likely to end their life with violent
suicide. The pain the infant experiences is an important factor.
Birth trauma has also been linked to infant crying and resultant
child abuse. In a survey of battered infants, eighty percent of
the parents reported that excessive crying by their child
triggered the abuse and placed emphasis on birth trauma as a
source of the stress and crying. Child Protection Service
agencies receive more than 50,000 referrals each week alleging
that children have been abused or neglected. One doctor says
that crying is a beneficial process that allows people to cope
with stress and can be considered an inborn healing mechanism,
but constant crying puts babies at high risk for child abuse.
This is one possible explanation for the correlation between
birth trauma and later violent behavior. Crying infants are
frequently drugged to keep them quiet. One survey in England
found that twenty-five percent of babie