How many children are injured or die from shaken baby syndrome?

This is a frequently asked question and unfortunately there are not good statistics. Until a method for collecting such statistics is established, the true incidence will not be known. It is recognized, however, that it is the most common cause of mortality and accounts for the most long-term disability in infants and young children due to physical child abuse.

Based on a North Carolina research project published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in August of 2003, approximately 1,300 U.S. children experience severe or fatal head trauma from child abuse every ear. The same study revealed that approximately 30 per 100,000 children under age 1 suffered inflicted brain injuries. Adapted from the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome Website, 2955 Harrison Blvd. Suite 102, Ogden, Utah, 84403. U.S.A.