Shaken Baby Syndrome

[daycarediva]

I have watched the documentary The Syndrome, (on amazon) twice now.

Has anyone else seen it? It completely discredits the diagnosis criteria. I have long suspected SBS to be hogwash.

[Play Care]

I haven't watched that one. But I did watch an investigative special years ago which also warned of the dangers of SBS diagnosis. It's been shown that common childhood falls *can* cause injuries consistent with SBS, even though it's been claimed that the injury has "tell tale" signs.

How many caregivers are jailed while proclaiming their innocence or coerced into a guilty plea out of fear?

[daycarediva]

I personally know someone who was tried, convicted and jailed for the death of her child. SBS was the DX. I always questioned the validity of that, if the child is shaken so severely to cause brain damage, where is the neck injury?

[Blackcat31]

A provider in my community was forced to close her child care after 25 yrs because she too was accused of shaking a baby.

A baby who's grandmother admitted openly to placing baby in a Bumbo seat on the kitchen counter and not supervising and baby fell.

Baby's family never once thought provider was guilty but the state did and although she (the provider) wasn't charged criminally, she lost everything.

[Solandia]

I am far from unbiased as i currently foster a child with sbs. I know serveral caregivers of kids with sbs, and convictions and jail time far and few between.

In milder cases, I can se where there is room for error and misdiagnoses. It really doesn’t take that much force to causebbrain damage.

In my little dudes case, it was enough for him to lose half—-50% ——of his brain. The mri’s are heartbreaking.He is a happy baby, but at over 2yo he is still...a baby. He is blind, can’t sit stand or crawl, and has seizures daily. He is currently sitting (supported ) on the floor with me, vocalizing happily while getting fed via a feeding tube.

I have no doubt he was abused, very likely shaken. 2 years later and no one has been arrested, doubtful anyone will at this point unless someone confesses.

[alyssahenderson]

Have heard a lot of child care closed because they were accused of shaking a baby.

[Ariana]

I saw a documentary about it as well, not sure what it was called though. It was about that UK nanny who got accused (possibly convicted I can’t remember now) of it based on one DRs testimony. He has since gone back on his diagnosis of it and now experts do not believe it actually exists.

It is terrible . So many broken families because of it. I also saw another documentary about a DR who devised a drug and alcohol screening test using hair. So many children were taken away from their mothers based on this test over the years. Turns out it was a completely flawed test!

[Snowmom]

I just watched it. It was quite an eye opener.

I had always wondered why they had changed the name to Abusive Head Trauma.