Abusive head trauma/inflicted traumatic brain injury — also
called shaken baby/shaken impact syndrome (or SBS) — is a form
of inflicted head trauma. Abusive head trauma (AHT) can be
caused by direct blows to the head, dropping or throwing a
child, or shaking a child. Head trauma is the leading cause of
death in child abuse cases in the United States. How These
Injuries Happen Unlike other forms of inflicted head trauma,
abusive head trauma results from injuries caused by someone
vigorously shaking a child. Because the anatomy of infants puts
them at particular risk for injury from this kind of action, the
majority of victims are infants younger than 1 year old. The
average age of victims is between 3 and 8 months, although these
injuries can be seen in children up to 5 years old. The
perpetrators in these cases are most often parents or
caregivers. Common triggers are frustration or stress when the
child is crying. Unfortunately, the shaking may have the desired
effect: although at first the baby cries more,