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Information on Shaken Baby Syndrome and Sudden Infant Death (SIDS)
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Information for Child-Care Professionals
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Division
of Licensing, is providing the following general information on
Shaken Baby Syndrome and SIDS as a public service to visitors of
our web site.
Shaken Baby SyndromeShaken Baby Syndrome is a term used to describe brain injury in young children under three years of age (most commonly under 18 months) resulting from vigorous shaking of an infant or child by the arms, legs, or shoulders. This motion often results in bleeding inside the head and can cause irreversible brain damage, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, spinal cord injuries, seizures, learning disabilities, and even death. It can be traced historically from the mid-1500's and was officially named and defined in 1974. Shaken Baby Syndrome is considered to be a form of child abuse. If you believe that your child has been subjected to any abuse, please report it by calling 1-800-252-5400 if you live in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, or New Mexico. Other states may use 1-512-834-3784 to report abuse or neglect that has occurred in Texas. Presenting symptoms can be vomiting with lethargy or drowsiness, respiratory difficulties, coma or death. Usually reported is that the infant stopped breathing, went to sleep and could not be aroused, was dropped or rolled off something . Diagnosis is made by CT or MRI scans and eye examinations. Skull fractures are usually not present, rather hemorrhages in the brain. Parents of children receiving out of home care should discuss all forms of discipline with the caregiver. This discussion should include references to Shaken Baby Syndrome. Sources -- Children's Trust Fund of Texas; American professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Multiple sources available on the internet under Shaken Baby Syndrome. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - Understanding and ActionBy Lisa Newsom, Executive Director, North Texas SIDS Alliance Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, SIDS, remains a leading cause of death for infants in Texas. Metropolitan areas see the largest concentration of deaths; however, all communities are at some time affected by a SIDS death. Knowledge of SIDS facts, learning the steps to take to reduce the risk of SIDS, and implementing a plan of action to deal with the sudden death of an infant will promote a comprehensive community response to SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the diagnosis given for the sudden death of an infant, 1 month to 1 year of age, that remains unexplained after a complete investigation which will include an autopsy, an examination of the death scene, and a review of the victim's medical and family history. SIDS is a recognized medical disorder. Infants who succumb to the syndrome appear healthy before the incident, even to a physician. At this time there is no strong evidence to suggest that SIDS can be arrested in anyway. The first and only symptom is death. SIDS appears to occur after an infant has been put down for sleep. Victims may have been down for sleep for as little as ten minutes. There are no apparent signs of struggle or suffering. Though SIDS is associated with an infants sleep time, and often occurs in the crib, the event may occur anywhere the infant is sleeping. SIDS events have occurred in infant seats, car seats, strollers, and in the parents' bed. SIDS can occur at anytime between 1 month of age and 1 year of age however, 91 percent of SIDS deaths occur before the age of 6 months with the highest concentration occurring between 2 months and 4 months of age. SIDS affects all races and socioeconomic groups. Environmental, behavioral, and physical influences may put some infants at greater risk for SIDS and conversely many SIDS victims meet no risk factors.
Risk Factors
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