The court reported that "the unified hypothesis [could] no longer be regarded as a credible or alternative cause of the triad of injuries": subdural haemorrhage, retinal bleeding and encephalopathy due to hypoxemia (low blood oxygen) found in suspected SBS.On 31 January 2008, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals granted Audrey A. Edmunds a new trial based on "competing credible medical opinions in determining whether there is a reasonable doubt as to Edmundss guilt." Specifically, the appeals court found that "Edmunds presented evidence that was not discovered until after her conviction, in the form of expert medical testimony, that a significant and legitimate debate in the medical community has developed in the past ten years over whether infants can be fatally injured through shaking alone, whether an infant may suffer head trauma and yet experience a significant lucid interval prior to death, and whether other causes may mimic the symptoms traditionally viewed as indicating shaken baby or shaken impact syndrome. "In 2012, A. Norman Guthkelch, the neurosurgeon often credited with "discovering" the diagnosis of SBS, published an article "after 40 years of consideration," which is harshly critical of shaken baby prosecutions based solely on the triad of injuries.
Shaken baby syndrome (SBS), also known as abusive head trauma (AHT), is the leading cause of fatal head injuries in children younger than two years. Diagnosing the syndrome has proved both challenging and contentious for medical professionals, in that objective witnesses to the initial trauma are generally unavailable. This is said to be particularly problematic when the trauma is deemed non accidental. Some medical professionals propose that SBS is the result of respiratory abnormalities leading to hypoxia and swelling of the brain  The courtroom has become a forum for conflicting theories with which generally accepted medical literature has not been reconciled. Often there are no outwardly visible signs of trauma, despite the presence of severe internal brain and eye . Complications include seizures, visual impairment, cerebral palsy, cognitive impairment, and death.The cause may be blunt trauma, vigorous shaking, or a combination of both. Often this occurs as a result of a caregiver becoming frustrated due to the child crying. Diagnosis can be difficult as symptoms may be nonspecific. A CT scan of the head is typically recommended if a concern is present. If there are concerning findings on the CT scan, a full work-up for child abuse should occur, including an eye exam and skeletal survey. Retinal hemorrhage is highly associated with AHT, occurring in 78% of cases of AHT versus 5% of cases of non-abusive head trauma.Educating new parents appears to be beneficial in decreasing rates of the condition. SBS is estimated to occur in three to four per 10,000 babies a year.