Abuse of any kind is horrible. Child abuse is unthinkable. But infant abuse is unimaginable. Sadly, the journal Pediatrics, surveyed almost 89% of hospitals in the U.S. and looked at the 2006 Kids Inpatient Database from the Department of Health and Human Services. This study found that for every 100,000 children, 6 were seriously abused. But for children under 1 year old, this likelihood increased more than 8 times, making the rate 58 in every 100,000 for infants. This rate is higher than Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which gets much more research opportunities and publicity than child abuse. The study also found that infants covered by Medicaid were abused 1 in every 752. Karel Amaranth, executive director of the J.E & Z.B. Butler Child Advocacy Center, explains that there is a "strong association between poverty and child abuse such as stressful economic situations and lack of support for young mothers" (cnn.com). Still, no matter how broke you really are, there is no excuse for taking out your frustration on your baby. Your baby who is unable to protect itself in any way, shape, or form.
The author of this article, Nadia Jounang, does a wonderful job enhancing the logos and ethos in her writing. I did find, however, that she was lacking in pathos. This is somewhat surprising because when talking about child abuse there seems to be a myriad of opportunities to play up on the pathos. I think that her article would've have a greater impact on the reader if it had enhanced people emotions a little more. But, this was a medical article and therefore it is fitting that she did not play up the pathos.
That's really sad- this post certainly isn't lacking in pathos! I can't imagine anyone hurting their own baby, and I'm surprised by the statistics.
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