Infants and young children have a relatively large and heavy head, weak neck muscles and a brain that is still developing, making a baby’s brain more prone to injury from shaking. With shaking, a baby’s head wobbles rapidly back and forth and the brain strikes the inside of the skull. The effect is similar to whiplash. The brain may bleed or swell, raising pressure, which can further harm brain tissue. The result may be permanent brain damage. This condition more commonly known as "shaken baby syndrome", "shaken impact syndrome" or "abusive head trauma " is a grave form of abusive head trauma.
To learn more and to print the complete Please! Don't Shake Your Baby brochure (pdf), click here. [1]
This information was prepared by the Trauma Department [2] and the Child Protection Committee [3] of The Montreal Children’s Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre.
Reviewed by Trauma specialists at the Montreal Children's Hospital.
Last updated: July 2013, January 2016
Last updated: July 2013, January 2016