Shaken Baby Syndrome a real and legitimate diagnosis, doctors say

It doesn’t take a genius to know that shaking an infant is terrible idea, but for those who are unconvinced, doctors are finally speaking out against it.

In fact, they believe that shaking a baby can cause subdural hematoma, retinal hemorrhage, coma, or even death.

In a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers surveyed 628 doctors who evaluate injured children at the United States' top 10 children's hospitals.

"Our study is the first to provide the much needed empiric confirmation that multidisciplinary physicians throughout the country overwhelmingly accept the validity of these diagnoses, and refutes the recent contention that there is this emerging 'groundswell' of physician opinion against the diagnoses," said Sandeep Narang, MD, JD, in a EurekAlert report.

Sandeep Narang is the lead author and Division Head of Child Abuse Pediatrics at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

According to a PsychCentral report, 88% of the surveyed doctors “shaken baby syndrome” is a legitimate diagnosis, saying that "shaking with or without impact was likely or highly likely to produce subdural hematoma."

90% of the them believed that shaking a baby could also lead to severe retinal hemorrhage.

Meanwhile, 78% of them believe that shaking a baby can result to a coma or death.

Sandeep Narang even says that their findings show that shaken baby syndrome is generally accepted by medical professionals as a dangerous form of abuse.

Find out more about shaken baby syndrome and court proceedings next page

Shaken baby syndrome and court proceedings

This study is a “decisive blow to courts around the world, many of which still question the concept,” says a Mail Online story.

The story also added added that courts depend on a medical expert's testimony to find out what brought about a child's injuries when dealing with child maltreatment cases.

"Claims of substantial controversy within the medical community about shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma have created a chilling effect on child protection hearings and criminal prosecutions," Narang was quoted in the report.