Shaken baby syndrome: facts, education, and advocacy.

The exact prevalence of SBS in the United States is unknown, because many states and the national reporting statistics do not categorize SBS events or fatalities. In some states, child fatality review teams may categorize SBS but are restricted by state statute from making public reports of the number of child maltreatment fatalities, much Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is likely the greatest cause of child fatalities due to child maltreatment in young children because of the degree of traumatic brain injury that occurs (Duhaime, Christian, Rorke, & Zimmerman, 1998). SBS is a serious form of infl icted child abuse caused by violent shaking of a child generally younger than one year. During the shaking, the infant’s head and limbs fl ail and the head rapidly rotates, extends and fl exes. SBS can produce Infants and