The number one reason a baby is shaken is inconsolable crying. Babies have large, heavy heads and weak, underdeveloped neck muscles. The whiplash action of shaking causes the brain to ricochet about the skull and the blood vessels, connecting the brain to the skull, to tear. Consequences include brain damage, seizures, paralysis, blindness and death. Back to Top More than two-thirds of the perpetrators are male.
Boys are more likely to be shaken than girls.
Public understanding is limited. Recent data indicate that more than one-third of teenagers and adults do not know the danger of shaking a baby.