Shaken Baby Syndrome Possibly Impossible
Thank you, Double X for pointing us toward a fascinating article in Reason magazine about changes in how the medical community views so-called “shaken baby syndrome.” Despite hundreds of convictions each year — many using “expert testimony” — researchers, doctors and legal experts have lately been asking whether it is even possible to shake a baby to death.
For a long time, the death of any baby that showed these three symptoms — bleeding at the back of the eye, bleeding in the protective area of the brain, and brain swelling — was thought to be caused by having been vigorously shaken by a caretaker. Almost everybody who purported to know anything about SBS thought those three symptoms could only occur in an infant who had been shaken with a force equivalent to a fall from a three-story window or a car going between 25 and 40 mph.
However!
More recent research, using lifelike infant dolls, suggests vigorous shaking produces bleeding equivalent to a 2-foot to 3-foot fall. More importantly, shaking experiments with the infant-like dolls could not produce the three symptoms prosecutors were using to pin SBS deaths on caretakers.
From Reason:
The research implies that human beings simply cannot shake a baby to death without an accompanying impact to the head. SBS cases, however, frequently show no external injuries. This suggests that other causes are at work. Additional research has shown babies to be lucid up to 72 hours before classic SBS symptoms set in, casting doubt on the long-held theory that the child’s caretaker at the time of death (or loss of consciousness) was the likely killer.
Reason links to this article in Discover magazine while lays out the research and findings nicely. They also interview several specialists who, more than once, testified for the prosecution in SBS cases yet now dispute the original research.
A couple of years ago, a Wisconsin court granted a new trial to a woman who had been sentenced to 18 years in prison for an SBS conviction. The court demonstrated there are enough questions about the science and research to question whether she had been fairly convicted.
What’s scary is that 200 people are sentenced every year for SBS deaths. If the research is true, and the medical community is starting to agree, that means a lot of innocent people are sitting in jail.
DePaul University law professor Deborah Teurkheimer thinks its time for U.S. courts to review all SBS cases from the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the same day the Wisconsin court granted that new trial, they denied a new trial for a woman convicted under similar circumstances.
Thoughts?
More Posts
Baby’s Cry Disgusting for Some
When a Timeout Means ‘I Love You’ … Sometimes
They Say: Some Formula Makes Kids Smarter!
Preschool Search Nightmare Already Begun
Photo: Thingamababy.com
Related Posts:
Related Posts:- They Say: 1 in 5 Kids Suffered Flu-Like Illness in October
- Woman Arrested While in Labor Sues Police
- Swine Flu Closes MDA Camps
- They Say: Two Moms Better Than Mom And Dad
- Breaking News: Brazilian Custody Case Suspended
Tags: Discover magazine, double x, infant death, Madeline Holler, medical experts, Reason magazine, research, SBS, shaken baby syndrome, U.S. courts
15 Comments
[...] Shaken Baby Syndrome Impossible? [...]
There’s a Device That Can Detect Autism? | Strollerderby commented on Sep 24 09 at 1:15 pm[...] and sends about 200 people to jail every year. But new research shows that shaken baby syndrome may, in fact, be impossible. [...]
What Ears Say About Heart Health, Smart Women Live Longer, and Why Shaken Baby Syndrome May Be Impossible : InformationalHub.com commented on Oct 07 09 at 2:16 am[...] and sends about 200 people to jail every year. But new research shows that shaken baby syndrome may, in fact, be impossible. [...]
What Ears Say About Heart Health, Smart Women Live Longer, and Why Shaken Baby Syndrome May Be Impossible | Healthy Living Tips commented on Oct 09 09 at 6:49 amComstock commented on Sep 23 09 at 7:25 pmSo, is it okay to shake the little brats now?
GP commented on Sep 23 09 at 7:30 pmMaybe the babies didn’t die directly from their injuries, but of broken hearts : (
Lucky commented on Sep 23 09 at 8:22 pmThis is so sad. Who knows what caused those injuries and the parents not only lost their children but their lives as well.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Sep 23 09 at 10:24 pmThis is awful, yet I am encouraged that they is working toward more precise science in this matter.
kd commented on Sep 24 09 at 2:09 pmI’m not buying it yet. Many medical providers working with shaken babies know that it may take a few days for serious symptoms to become apparent because the baby develops a slow bleed, or swelling that increases over many hours. I cared for shaken babies as a staff nurse, and can tell you - these kids had devastating neurological and physical sequelae. And most of them were allowed supervised visits with their suspected abusers… it was hard to see.
We do things to children that we would never do to another adult.
Rosana commented on Sep 24 09 at 3:26 pmTrue or not, kids in general should not be shaken and if you as a parent feel like you have to shake your kid, several times a day, is time to call social services yourself and give your kid up because you cannot handle it. I agree with KD some people do things to kids that they will never do to another adult.
Madeline Holler commented on Sep 24 09 at 3:46 pmAbsolutely, Rosana. The take-away from this should not be that it’s OK to shake your baby, because it’s not. And some of those people in jail for killing kids in their care did, in fact, kill kids in their care. However, many hundreds could have been wrongly convicted of SBS, particularly if those three symptoms were present(and that’s the evidence that was used to convict them) but there were no signs of trauma to the outside of the head.
Robyn commented on Sep 25 09 at 12:36 amMany people who question vaccines want more research to be done to see if there is any correlation between “Shaken Baby Syndrome” and vaccinations. If SBS can be caused by other factors, perhaps the time has come to do this research. Sadly, more people will simply say “It can’t be the vaccines” than actually try to rule it out scientifically.
mommiedear commented on Sep 25 09 at 9:15 amSo what is this new research suggesting??? That convictions be overturned? They were all innocent??? what exactly? Why shake a baby at all? I dont get it? If it is crying the shaking isnt going to makeing it instantly happy so what is the point? Anyway many moms have been frustrated on http://www.truuconfessions.com and have spoken out clearly about the shaken baby syndrome.
Grace Jacek, R.N. commented on Sep 25 09 at 11:21 amComments: This particular blog is unscientific, irresponsible and does not, quite intentionaly, elucidate other facts associated in child abuse crimes involving Shaken Baby Syndrome. I am wondering if Ms. Holler will next suggest a research model that inflicts the mechanism of injury on healthy infants in an attempt to prove her point.
Chris commented on Sep 25 09 at 12:15 pmit is never ok to shake a baby now if they fall or have an acedent that is beyond the parents control that is a diffrent story but maybe you should read the article before you put up stupid comments about being ok to shake a baby. Shome one should have shaked you you brat.
Michael commented on Oct 11 09 at 1:29 pmNO ONE SHOULD SHAKE A BABY! BUT NOT ALL SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS, the triad, assocaiated with Shaken Baby Syndrome have to be caused by what the medical field deems “Shaken Baby Syndrome”. There are other medical proven items that causes these same signs. The originating studies and data we base this syndrome on are unscientifically proven. Just as the mojority in the medical field believe in this syndrome so did the experts a few hundred years ago believe the world was FLAT. ALL these experts agreed with this. If you look at how many studies are done…one studay will indicate this or that is good for you and then years later another study proves otherwise. We don’t know all about the human body and sometimes we shouldn’t try. We alter God’s handiwork AKA our bodeis with Vaccines, medications ets. We don’t understand the inflammatory process as relevant to vaccine reactions….as many studies that have been performed noe of these experts can tell us what causes SIDS. We don’t know everything. Can shaking a child hurt them? Hell yeah I think it has to in some fashion. Can it kill a child? I don’t know but I would think before it cuased damage to the brain it would certainly have to cause neck injuries and if there are no neck injuries or external signs of trauma then we need to look for a different medical reason. I know 100% for a fact that this has been misdiagnosed before. I know it can also be used by a doctor trying to cover up his mistakes. I can’t say this Shaken Baby Syndrome doesn’t exist but I can tell you 100% that we should be absolutely sure of this diagnosis before falsely accusing an innocent parent that has already lost a child and how would an innocent parent feel after losing a child and then being accused of it and it really was something medical. If you haven’t spent 500 hour researching this Syndrome and the faulty data that originated it then take time to research before you comment on a subject you know nothing of. I do feel that some of those that have made previous comments that are in the medical field are not interested in some of these new studies or even the old faulty ones that the theroy was born from and I am sure those in the medical field really care about these children. There are many other causes, both known, unknown and newly discovered that can mimic these SBS type symptoms. Dr. Ommaya performed the only scientific based study that supports this theory…He later admits as does his protege, Dr. Uscinski, that is was based on faluty data or the exclusion of other facts that should have been discovered. Read about the Ken Marsh story. Maybe since I was presonally affected I feel it is overdiagnosed. Regardless, I know for 100% that we were falsely accused. There may be alot of parents that have actually caused abuse and death of their child, intentional or not, but just as we are innocent, there has to be other innocent parents that have been acccused fasley. Please don’t judge a case or a person for even the best doctor in the world is human and can misdiagnos. I am glad that no matter what your stance on the subject that these children are the main priority and just as we should protect them from abusers, we should also not remove children from a home without beign 100% sure for not much is worse than your child passing away—-except being faslely accused of having something to do with it. God Bless all the children and I hope you can be open-minded and research both sides of the coin. Remember we know the world really is flat but not long ago those that thought the world was round was ridiculed….The one’s that felt the Earth was flat were THE EXPERTS…..the experts are not always right.
