Most loving and caring parents wouldn't want to have the Forgotten Baby Syndrome (FBS) but unfortunately, there have been some reported cases where mothers or fathers tend to leave their little ones unattended. Some parents unknowingly leave their babies in some places such as in a locked car -- leading to some tragic and unwanted results.
According to the report of Bundoo.com, there were almost 40 families who have experienced the Forgotten Baby Syndrome in the U.S. where they left their babies at the backseat of their cars. In fact, there were 13 deaths reported in 2014 due to heat stroke inside the car.
Dr. David Diamond, a professor of molecular pharmacology, psychology and physiology at the University of South Florida explained this phenomenon. "Memory is a machine," he told the Washington Post, "And it is not flawless. Our conscious mind prioritizes the things by importance, but on a cellular level, our memory does not. If you're capable of forgetting your cellphone, you are potentially capable of forgetting your child."
"The human brain composes of the prefrontal cortex that is capable of thinking and analyzing, the hippocampus, which holds on the immediate memories, and at the bottom is the basal ganglia which controls voluntary but barely conscious actions," Diamond stated.
He said that when the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus are planning the day for work, the basal ganglia is operating the car. In his research, Diamond found out that stress can weaken the brain's higher-functioning center as such vulnerable to bullying from the basal ganglia. He compared this to cases that involved infant deaths in cars.
"The quality of prior parental care seems to be irrelevant," he said. "The important factors that keep showing up involve a combination of stress, emotion, lack of sleep and change in routine, where the basal ganglia are trying to do what it's supposed to do, and the conscious mind is too weakened to resist. What happens is that the memory circuits in a vulnerable hippocampus literally get overwritten, like with a computer programs. Unless the memory circuit is rebooted-such as if the child cries, or, you know if the wife mentions the child in the back -- it can entirely disappear," he added.
The article has also identified different ways to prevent these tragedies. Experts suggested that parents must check the back seat at all times as part of the car exiting routine. Apparently, there is also the Look Before You Lock campaign that is launched by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It reminds people to check the back of their vehicles before locking them.
