Statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of Medical Examiners:

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a technical report on Shaken Baby Syndrome in July 2001. It includes the following statement:

"Shaken Baby Syndrome is a serious form of child maltreatment most often involving children younger than two years but may be seen in children up to 5 years old. Caretakers may misrepresent or claim to have no knowledge of the cause of the brain injury. Physicians must be extremely vigilant when dealing with any brain trauma in infants and be familiar with radiologic and clinical findings that support the diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome."

The America Academy of Pediatrics technical report continues to say:

"The act of shaking leading to Shaken baby Syndrome is so violent that individuals observing it would recognize it as dangers and likely to kill the child. Shaken Baby Syndrome injuries are the result of violent trauma, The constellation of these injuries does not occur with short falls, seizures, or as a consequent of vaccination."

"There are very few syndromes with such a firm basis of support as the Shaken Baby Syndrome. Although there are a few maverick physicals who offer alternative theories, there are always people who have contrary opinions. The debate within courtrooms is not a debate within the medical field, " Said Randell Alexander, MD, Director of the Center for Child Abuse at Morehouse School of Medicine and the primary author of the America Academy of Pediatrics statement.

The national association of Medical Examiners also released a position statement on Shaken Baby Syndrome this year, stating the following:

The type of shaking that is thought to result in significant brain injury involves holding the child by the thorax or an extremity and violently shaking the child back and fourth, causing the head to forcefully whiplash forward and backward with repeated accelerations and deceleration in each direction.

Member so the medical field have supported Shaken Baby Syndrome for more than 30 years. Source: National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome