What Is ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’

 By: Christina England, BA, Hons

When medical professionals, suspect that an infant has been violently shaken, they will examine the child for three particular injuries. These injures, known as the ‘triad’, are said to be associated with Shaken Baby Syndrome, (SBS).

These injuries are:

1. Subdural Haematoma (bleeding inside the brain)

2. Retal Haemorrhage (bleeding behind the eyes)

3. Cerebral Edema (swelling or inflammation inside the brain).

Retired neurosurgeon, Norman Guthkelch, is believed to have written one of the first descriptions of Shaken Baby Syndrome, in 1971 in a paper titled: ‘Infantile Subdural Haematoma and its Relationship to Whiplash Injuries.’ he spent the last part of his life trying to help parents who had been accused of SBS. He said his original views had been misinterpreted.

His paper outlined twenty-three cases of what she called suspected parental assault on children under the age of three. She wrote that:

“Subdural haematoma is one of the commonest features of the battered child syndrome, yet by no means are all the patients so affected that they have external marks of injury on the head. This suggests that in some cases repeated acceleration/deceleration rather than direct violence is the cause of the haemorrhage, the infant having been shaken rather than struck by its parent. Such an hypothesis might also explain the remarkable frequency of the finding of subdural haemorrhage in battered children as compared with its incidence in head injuries of other origin, and the fact that it is so often bilateral.”

This may well be true, however, according to research, the triad of injuries can also occur if a child has had short fall, has a bleeding disorder, a vitamin deficiency, a genetic illness such as brittle bone disease, a birth trauma or an adverse reaction to a vaccination. .

Barring vaccination, each and every one of these causes have been outlined in a document titled, Shaken Baby Syndrome Science Alternative Explanations, by lawyer, Mark D. Freeman Esq.

Despite vaccination being omitted from Mr. Freeman’s paper, many other professionals from around the world believe that there is a direct link between vaccination and SBS.

In a paper titled, Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) or vaccine-induced encephalomyelitis? the story of Baby Alan authors Harold E. Buttram, MD, FAAEM , F. Edward Yazbak, MD, FAAP, wrote:

“By definition, the word “syndrome” refers to a group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality. The question in the present instance is whether or not the criteria of SBS may have more than one possible cause.”

They continued that:

“The shaken baby syndrome (SBS), as reviewed in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and other journals [l-4], commonly describes a combination of subdural hematoma, retinal hemorrhage, and diffuse axonal injury (DAI) as the triad of diagnostic criteria. The basic issue to be addressed in this review is whether or not in some instances, where a father has been accused of causing the death of his child from the shaken

baby syndrome, the true cause of death was from a catastrophic vaccine reaction. The present reviewers believe that the demise of Baby Alan fits with such a vaccine reaction, and that the father was falsely accused and convicted of the murder of his son based on a mistaken diagnosis.”

Their paper is extremely well written and I believe that what makes this particular paper stand out from the rest is the fact that the authors reference several medical papers in detail to support their claims.

They concluded that:

“From all of the studies quoted above, especially the German study showing significant drops in T-helper lymphocytes in healthy adults following tetanus booster injections, and the study of Low just quoted (neither of which have had follow-up studies in the United States, as they should have had), a large number of adverse reactions may be taking place unsuspected and unrecognized. The adverse events from vaccines that have been reported may represent the tip of the iceberg, as compared with a much larger number that are actually taking place. All of this, we believe, has a direct bearing on the case of Baby Alan.

We have previously observed that the train of events in the present case, culminating in death, could be explained by the presence of pneumonia together with a viral meningitis and/or a vaccine-induce encephalitis. Shaken baby syndrome has never caused pneumonia and meningitis. Baby Alan died of a vaccine reaction.”

Sadly, despite their excellent evidence supporting vaccination as a possible cause of baby Alan’s death, the jury found Alan’s father, guilty of his murder.

This case is by no means isolated. Cases of possible ‘vaccine induced injuries’ are being misdiagnosed and presented to courts as cases of SBS, on a daily basis and the worrying thing is that many of these children present with no external injuries, whatsoever.

Surely, if a very young baby has been shaken so violently that it caused them to suffer a catastrophic brain injury, there should be evidence of a broken neck or bruising.

This has prompted several leading professionals to ask the following question: Does the term Shaken Baby Syndrome, even exist?

The Term Shaken Baby Syndrome in Question

Biomechanic, Dr. John Lloyd, is a leading professional who does not believe that Shaken Baby Syndrome exists. In a paper titled, Biomechanical Evaluation of Head Kinematics During Infant Shaking Versus Pediatric Activities of Daily Living, he and his colleagues wrote that:

“Although the hypothesis has never been scientifically proven, practitioners working with the accepted model have accumulated years of clinical experience that convinces them that the model is correct. 

Over the past 25 years, however, biomechanical research studies and computer modeling have raised questions about traditional thinking regarding SBS. When Duhaime et al. tried to confirm the shaking hypothesis in the 1980s using anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs), adult subjects failed to generate sufficient angular acceleration by shaking to reach the predicted thresholds for infant subdural hematoma (SDH) and diffuse axonal injury (DAI). A follow-up study published in 2003 concluded that non-contact shaking or a fall from less than 1.5 meters were less likely to cause injury than inflicted slamming against a hard surface.”

The authors continued that:

“This study demonstrates that angular acceleration of the head during aggressive shaking of the CRABI biofidelicmannequin (1068.3 rad/s2) is statistically indistinguishabl (P ≤ .05) from angular head kinematics experienced by a 7-month-old infant fervently playing in his Jumparoo

(954.4 rad/s2). Other pediatric ADLs, such as being burped or bounced on a knee, are clearly negligible. Furthermore, measured angular accelerations fall 84% below the scientifically accepted biomechanical threshold for bridging-vein rupture of 10, 000 rad/s2. Although shaking an infant or toddler in anger is clearly ill advised and potentially unsafe, our data indicate that neither aggressive nor resuscitative shaking is likely to be a primary cause of diffuse axonal injury, primary retinal hemorrhage, schisis or folds, or subdural hematoma in a previously

healthy infant.

Future research will investigate a systematic protocol for evaluating biomechanical indices associated with falls from different heights and orientations onto various surfaces.”

If this study is correct, then this study alone puts the diagnosis of SBS into serious question.

Each and every one of the professionals that I have outlined in this article, agree, that the triad of injuries previously associated with SBS, are not necessarily being caused by a parent violently shaking their child.

Isn’t it about time that all cases of SBS were investigated in more detail, before parents are falsely accused of child abuse?

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TLB Note: Christina has been writing health related articles for The Liberty Beacon Project for over a decade CLICK HERE to read more of her great articles.

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About Christina England, BA Hons, Research Journalist and Author:

Christina was born and educated in London, U.K. She left school to work in a children’s library, specialising in storytelling and book buying. In 1978, Christina changed her career path to dedicate her time to caring for the elderly and was awarded the title of Care Giver of the Year for her work with the elderly in 1980.

After taking an A Level in Psychology and a BTEC in Learning Support, Ms. England spent many years researching vaccines and adverse reactions. She gained a Higher National Diploma in Journalism and Media Studies in 2010 and in 2016 she gained a BA Hons degree in Literature and Humanities. She currently writes for The Liberty Beacon on immunisation safety and efficacy.

Christina has co-authored the following books – Shaken Baby Syndrome or Vaccine Induced Encephalitis – Are Parents Being Falsely Accused? with Dr. Harold Buttram and Vaccination Policy and the UK Government: The Untold Truth with Lucija Tomljenovic PhD, which are sold on Amazon. She also compiled the book Shattered Dreams: The HPV Vaccine Exposed. Her website is Parents and Carers Against Medical Injustice

Image Credit: Photos in Featured Image (top) –Pixabay License.

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