What is Shaken Baby Syndrome?
Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is a medical term. It describes the brain trauma that results from the violent shaking of an infant or child. In America, 1,200 children a year are hospitalized or killed due to shaking. In Southeastern Wisconsin, an average of 20 babies are shaken each year. Most are less than six months old.
A baby’s head is larger in proportion to its body; neck muscles are weak. This makes them more prone to injury. Of children who are shaken, 25-30 percent die. The rest suffer from a variety of damaging effects. Shaking a baby has life long consequences ranging from subtle to severe.
Signs of a shaken baby may include:
- Speech and learning disabilities
- Behavioral problems
- Intellectual disability
- Developmental delays
- Hydrocephalus
- Blindness
- Seizures
- Paralysis
- Epilepsy
- Cerebral palsy
- Permanent vegetative state
- Death