Shaken baby syndrome

[[File:CTheatInfantAbusiveheadtrauma.png|thumb|right|165px|"An intraparenchymal bleed with overlying skull fracture from abusive head trauma", indicative of the syndrome]]
{{DenialismSide}}
'''Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)''' is a well-defined type of intentional injury to young children: severe rotational acceleration of the head, causing serious whiplash-type injuries, broken bones, and/or haemorrhages. It was first described in the early 1970s by pediatric neurosurgeon {{wpl|Norman Guthkelch}} and  pediatrician/radiologist {{wpl|John Caffey||,}}<ref>[https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1796151/pdf/brmedj02261-0032.pdf Infantile Subdural Haematoma and its- Relationship to Whiplash Injuries] by A. N. Guthkelch (1971) ''British Medical Journal'' 2:430-431.</ref><ref>"The Whiplash Shaken Infant Syndrome: Manual Shaking by the Extremities With Whiplash-Induced Intracranial and Intraocular Bleedings, Linked With Residual Permanent Brain Damage and Mental Retardation" by John Caffey (1974) ''Pediatrics'' 54 (4): 396–403. doi:10.1542/peds.54.4.396.</ref> and has since been recognized as a common form of childhood injury and [[death]]. By definition, it arises from [[child abuse]] in that the shaking required is violent enough that an outside observer would recognize it as violent and abusive.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040826044955/http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;108/1/206 Shaken Baby Syndrome: Rotational Cranial Injuries: Technical Report] by the Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect (2001) ''Pediatrics'' 108(1):206-210. Archived from August 26, 2004.</ref>

==Prevalence==
SBS is believed to affect about 1300 children in the U.S. yearly, with about 25% of he children dying from the abuse.<ref>[https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/fact-checked/fact-checked-abusive-head-trauma-in-children-recognizing-and-preventing-a-serious-threat/ Fact Checked: Abusive Head Trauma in Children: Recognizing and Preventing a Serious Threat] (03/20/2025) ''American Academy of Pediatrics''.</ref>

==Denialism==
There is a large [[denialism]] movement directed towards SBS that seems to arise from the legal system. While there is certainly some disagreement in the medical community<ref>[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2007.02004.x Shaken baby syndrome: the quest for evidence] by Waney Squier (2008) ''Dev. Med. Child Neurol. 50(1):10-4. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2007.02004.x.</ref> about mechanisms, definitions, and how to accurately diagnose the syndrome,<ref>[http://www.sbu.se/en/publications/sbu-assesses/traumatic-shaking--the-role-of-the-triad-in-medical-investigations-of-suspected-traumatic-shaking/ Traumatic shaking - The role of the triad in medical investigations of suspected traumatic shaking: A systematic review] (October 25, 2016) ''Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services''.</ref> it is generally agreed that the syndrome exists and kills babies.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170903084107/https://www.dontshake.org/component/k2/item/206-sbs-acceptance High Degree of Medical Consensus in Shaken Baby Syndrome Acceptance] (22 July 2016) ''National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome'' (archived from September 3, 2017).</ref> A 2011 article in ''[[The New York Times]]'' magazine threw some more skepticism into the mix.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/magazine/06baby-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shaken Shaken-Baby Syndrome Faces New Questions in Court] by Emily Bazelon (Feb. 6, 2011) ''The New York Times''.</ref>

Much of the denialism of SBS arises from defense attorneys in courtrooms who rely on disputing "the triad" of diagnoses ("brain swelling, brain hemorrhaging and retinal hemorrhaging"), yet from a medical standpoint the triad is a [[strawman argument]], a term that is not used by child abuse pediatricians. The three diagnoses do often occur with SBS, but medial diagnosis is more complex that that.<ref name=haelle>[https://www.sciencenews.org/article/shaken-baby-syndrome-diagnosis-real No, shaken baby syndrome has not been discredited. Despite what defense lawyers claim, the diagnosis is real, doctors say.] by Tara Haelle (July 16, 2025 at 9:00 am) ''Science News''.</ref> Christopher Greeley, a child abuse pediatricians, has found that SBS denialist tactics are similar to those of [[climate change]] denialists and [[antivaxxers]] (use of [[Expert for hire|fake experts]], insisting on absolute certainty, and [[cherry picking]]).<ref name=haelle/>

==See also==
*[[Dynastic gymnastics]]
*[[Paida lajin]]
*[[Alan Yurko]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Medicine]]

Categories: Biology, Law, Medicine