A Careful Look at Shaken Baby Syndrome

Oct. 7, 2004 — -- Seven years ago, the trial of Louise Woodward brought to national attention a terrible kind of child abuse called "shaken baby syndrome."

Woodward was the teenage au pair convicted of second-degree murder in 1997 after authorities in Massachusetts accused her of shaking to death 8-month-old Matthew Eappen.

She was sentenced to mandatory life in prison, but a judge reduced the conviction to manslaughter and sentenced her to the nine months she had already served in prison awaiting trial.

Woodward returned to her native Britain, still protesting her innocence. But where does science stand on SBS?

It seems like common sense: the widely held notion that a baby's neck is so weak — its brain so soft — that vigorous shaking could kill the child.

Public service announcements warn: "Shaking a baby can result in brain damage, blindness and even death. Never ever shake a baby."

The American Academy of Pediatrics cites estimates that as many as 350 infants die every year from shaken baby syndrome.

Dr. Randell Alexander, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida and a highly regarded expert for the prosecution in shaken baby cases, says shaking for just a few seconds is enough to cause bilateral retinal hemorrhages and swelling of the brain.

"And it can even kill," he said.

Little wonder that just two weeks ago New York Gov. George Pataki issued an initiative to educate parents about the dangers of shaking a baby.

The science appears to be pretty well settled — but it is not. Dr. Jan Leestma — a leading neuropathologist who has testified for defendants in shaken baby cases, including Woodward — says there's "not much" science supporting SBS.

"The theory that is popular is that in the course of this flexing back and forth of the head, that forces are operating in the back of the eye [that] could tear blood vessels and so forth," he said.

"The problem with that is, the amount of force that can be generated in shaking isn't enough to do that."