I was watching a TV special about 20 minutes ago about Shaken Baby Syndrome. Most doctors believe it is an actull syndrome while there are some that stand behind the mothers and fathers saying it is not. That the syndrom is just an easy out for some doctors. The ones that dont believe it is an actull thing state that most children fall from a highchair or something like that and when they are brought to the ER the doctors write it down as Shaken Baby Syndrom. That if a baby is shaken badly its neck would snap.. when in most cases reported the babies neck is still intact. (info from the TV show)

I pose this question to you.. What do you think of the syndrome? Also do you believe that the mothers and fathers being proscuted for Shaken Baby Syndrom are innocent or guilty (most cases for Shaken Baby Syndrom from what they said are almost the same)? I am referring mostly to the ones that have children already.

I watched the show last night. I do believe that Shaken Baby exists, but I also believe that a short fall with a hard hit to the head can cause the same things.

What was the name of the show? Or if you don't know, what station was it on?

Yea, I watched something else the other night where a step dad got convicted of shaking his kid to death, even though he was the one who tried to save it... (Because the kid had fallen really hard on his head a few days before, and the doctors kind of just blew it off, and then the baby started having seizures and died.)

The jury said that the dad must have shaken him to death and one doctor said that too... even though like three other doctors said that with the force of his head injury from days before, and it being kind of blown off in the hospital, that it could have and probably did cause his death... brain bleeding, swelling, etc.

I felt so bad for the guy... and the mother almost got the rest of her kids taken away because she believed him.

I think that in some cases yes the baby was shaken, in other cases it could be a deadly reaction to a vax, or numerous other things which can in fact mimic SBS. All you have to do is google SBS and you will see that DRs & research scientist have numerous theories and opinions on SBS.

Case in point is Baby Kaleb where the child care provider is suspected (I have my own opinions on that case thats a whole other debate though) he had recently had vax, he was sick from the first day he was dropped of with the day care provider, and he had no other injury save for the trauma to his brain. That makes me think it was repeated shaking and the bruising built up over time. There is also a 48 hour window of when the trauma occurred.

The medicine behind SBS it is an unclear science and the fact is there are other illnesses/injuries that can cause trauma to the brain. With SBS there are often other injuries if it was a case where the baby was shaken badly one time there is often broken rib cages, whiplash etc. Then again no two cases present the same way either they just have similarities.

So yes I believe in SBS I think it is a problem but no I do not think everyone accused is the guilty party. I also think sometimes the baby may not of been shaken at all.

What was the name of the show? Or if you don't know, what station was it on?

I dont remember. Was a station my dad had on so it must have been Discovery Health I think. But was mostly about a mother who was on trial for Shaken Baby Syndrom. They said she killed her adopted son... The show went on and showed 2 other woman in the same situation. One was still behind bars and the other one had gotten out because they proved she was innocent.

Yes I believe that shaken baby syndrome is real and that many babys/kids die from it, but I also believe that some doctors are quick to diagnose it instead of looking at all factors involved like outward signs of falls and such.

I do know that if the death of a child is suspicous that an autopsy is done, so I would think that things like the condition of the skull and the brain are looked at in cases of shaken baby syndrome before people are fully prosecuted

I saw that too... I think that, yes...some people do shake children, but there are some cases that the kids seriously fell. I think a lot of times, they just don't like to spend the time it takes to figure out what really happened.

I watched the show last night. I do believe that Shaken Baby exists, but I also believe that a short fall with a hard hit to the head can cause the same things.

I saw that too... I think that, yes...some people do shake children, but there are some cases that the kids seriously fell. I think a lot of times, they just don't like to spend the time it takes to figure out what really happened.


I have to agree. It is scary when families are torn apart because of "accidents" also. The whole thing really bothers me.

I am going to say this because I think it's relevant. Please don't flame me for this, as it is not ME who did it, but a previous ex-boyfriend. It may be a little too much to take, but believe me...it was worse living through.

My ex-boyfriend Nate shook a 13-month old little girl and killed her. (He was already an ex by the time this happened...I was already married.) The autopsy showed that she had so much brain bleeding from the shaking..that is how she died...not the pillow being held over her head, but the actual shaking that caused her death.

There is such a thing as shaken baby syndrome.

It is classified 'shaken baby syndrome' because MOST cases were related to the baby being violently shaken when the 'symptoms' were first given their own label.

Just because someone diagnoses 'shaken baby syndrome' doesn't meant that they feel that someone actually shook the baby - it's just a diagnosis and a label used to define and identify the symptoms and treatment for those symptoms.

If the Dr truly believes it's abuse brought on by a person intentionally - then they'll contact DHS (or whomever) and then that organzation will sort it out.
Dr's don't judge - they diagnose.

So, really, there's no reason for them to dispute whether it's a real condition or not.

I don't think it's a "syndrome" at all. I think if a baby is shaken, it's abuse, not some kind of disease, KWIM? I also don't like how vague it is because parents who aren't abusive could be labeled as abusers. If shaken baby syndrome is really a possibility, there needs to be an investigation into abuse. If not, then don't label it with a generic "syndrome" just because the baby was injured or got sick.

I believe SBS exists but also there are things that can mock SBS unfortunately they cannot be found until an autopsy