Shaken baby syndrome : the parents of all social groups concerned

Babies under 6 months from all social classes are affected primarily by the shaken baby syndrome , experts said at a training day for professionals, organized by the Centre of Resources Francilien Cranial Trauma ( CRFTC * ) at the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris .
The Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) refers to specific injury to a child because of the shaking. SBS is the source of death in 10% of cases and major handicaps : 90 % of survivors have mental retardation , 75% a vision disorder . The circumstances are almost always the same : a child crying and evokes a loss of control of the environment which then shakes violently to silence .

The team of social workers and psychologists , service of Professor Dominique Renier , at the Necker Hospital ( AP- HP , Paris XV ) , conducted a survey of parents of 66 children victims of shaken syndrome between 2004 and 2005 , whose results were presented at this training day . "Contrary to popular belief , all social categories are represented (managers, workers , professionals ) and parents of the victims are predominantly active ," said one of the social workers. Furthermore, no accidents occurred within an institution for collective care ( nursery ), but mostly at home in the presence of a parent or a nurse .

However, some parents suffer from organizational problems , often linked with a return to work of women after a period of unemployment and also family problems ( death or illness of a loved one, isolation). "Every family situation is unique" , says Fanny Sullon however , trainee psychologist at CHU Necker .

However, some criteria have been found in several families of addiction problems , the absence or disqualification of a parent and blended families . " In nine cases out of 10 , parents have had an experience of separation , loss or failure ," says psychologist . Some parents also admitted suffering from relational difficulties with their child and feel a sense of failure or frustration towards this difficulty in understanding their baby, sometimes referred to as " angry ."

" The prognosis for a child victim of SBS depends on three main factors: age, children less than 3 months with more severe forms , the presence of early and timeliness of medical care epilepsy " says Dr. Dominique Renier . " The analysis of 28 former victims of SBS , after a decline of eight years , reveals that more than a third still suffers from major behavioral disorders , half of hemiplegia and the majority of intellectual disabilities ," the Dr. Laurent- Vannier, physical medicine and rehabilitation at the National Hospital of Saint -Maurice ( Val -de- Marne ) and author of the study. "The more time passes, the consequences are numerous. Prognosis of SBS can be catastrophic and it is therefore necessary to better inform parents ," she says .

The Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is still largely unknown to the general public and health professionals in France . According to a survey of 303 people , 39% of women have never heard of this syndrome.

A survey of Inserm , conducted between 2002 and 2005, with 27 floors of Ile -de- France, Britain and the Nord-Pas -de- Calais, found that deaths from shaken baby syndrome related to 75 % of boys under the age of 6 months. Not less than one third of these shaken babies had a history of abuse, generally known to the Maternal and Child Health (PMI) or justice .