Shaken Baby Syndrome

Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is a collection of findings used to describe the aggressive shaking, jolting, and jerking of an infant or young child primarily about the arms, chest, legs, or shoulders, and the strong impact trauma, or blows, on and about the head and skull of a baby. (Other names for shaken baby syndrome include shaken/impact syndrome, abusive head trauma, pediatric traumatic brain injury, shaken brain trauma, shaken impact syndrome, and whiplash shaken infant syndrome.) SBS is most often inflicted by biological fathers, step-fathers, male partners of biological mothers, and caregivers, but can also be inflicted by biological mothers.

Shaken baby syndrome is diagnosed by physicians (in cases of live children) and forensic scientists (those of dead children) when finding such problem areas as retinal hemorrhages (bleeding within the retina of eyes), intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding in and around the brain), increased head size (as a result of too much fluid in brain tissues), spinal cord damage, and broken and fractured ribs and bones. When brain damage is suspected, various diagnostic methods are used including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to show injuries to the brain. When such problems occur, more subtle symptoms are usually also present such as viral illnesses (such as influenza), infant colic (stomach aches and cramps), swallowing and feeding dysfunction, vomiting, lethargy (sluggishness), and irritability. Enough traumatic force used when shaking a baby can lead to brain damage, hearing loss, blindness, learning disorders, mental retardation, paralysis, seizures, and eventual death of the child.

Shaken baby syndrome, a type of child abuse, is investigated by law enforcement officials as a criminal assault in the United States and in many countries around the world. Such investigations are mostly performed by an expert who can distinguish between common childhood illness and injuries, and symptoms associated with SBS. It could also be investigated by professionals from local or state child welfare, social services, and public health care agencies due to the need to protect the child. Forensic experts must be called in when death has occurred in order to verify that the cause of death was shaken baby syndrome.