Caring for a baby or toddler, you must maintain self control. Or face a lifetime of consequences.

First documented in the early 1970s, "Shaken Baby Syndrome" involves vigorous shaking of infants or toddlers by their extremities or shoulders. Such shaking often results in serious injury or death. Every year, a number of child deaths in Kansas are attributed to the syndrome.

The cause: A parent or caregiver loses self control, most often because the baby or toddler continues to cry. The caregiver violently shakes the baby, and the violence causes veins from the brain to tear and bleed. The brain strikes the inner surface of the skull, causing trauma to the brain and cutting off the brain’s oxygen supply.

Dr. Katherine Melhorn, a Wichita pediatrician and a member of the State Child Death Review Board, has seen the results of such shaking. She said she has had to testify in court about Shaken Baby Syndrome.

"It’s always because the baby wouldn’t quit crying," she said. "Parents or caregivers need to know that it’s normal for babies to cry, and we do not have to make a baby quit crying.

"We need better training on parenting," Dr. Melhorn added. "And when we feel like we’re starting to lose it, we need to walk away."

The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS), together with a number of other state agencies, has initiated information campaign about the inherent dangers associated with shaking a baby or toddler. A Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Coalition has been formed and information is available to the general public about methods to prevent this tragedy. Members of the coalition include representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and SRS.

While there are often no signs of a head injury after the baby is shaken, Shaken Baby Syndrom accounts for a significant number of serious injuries and deaths of young children.

Head injuries can occur within seconds of violent shaking.

The Kansas Child Death Review Board documented four deaths of young children from shaking in 1996 and seven in 1997. Carolyn Ward, executive director of the board, said the majority of these cases in 1997 resulted in a conviction of the perpetrator; she did not have information about court action in the 1996 cases.

Joyce Allegrucci, Assistant Secretary of Children and Family Policy for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, explained that babies or toddlers are at risk because an infant’s brain is very soft and small in relation to the infant’s head. In addition, the baby’s head is supported by a weak neck.

"Babies and toddlers cannot withstand the whiplash that occurs with a violent shaking," Allegrucci said. "Shaken Baby Syndrome is a tragedy for babies and the parents or caregiver alike. Often, the damage that occurs can never be repaired, both emotionally and physically. There are a lifetime of consequences."

For more information about Shaken Baby Syndrome, contact the Healthy Start Home Visitors program, located in county health departments across the state.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001