Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is a collective term for the internal head injuries a baby or young child sustains from being violently shaken Shaken baby syndrome was first described in the medical literature in 1972. Physicians earlier labeled these injuries as accidental, but as more about child abuse became known, more cases of this syndrome were properly diagnosed.

Every year, nearly 50,000 children in the United States are forcefully shaken by their caretakers. More than 60% of these children are boys. The victims are on average six to eight months old, but may be as old as five years or as young as a few days.

Men are more likely than women to shake a child; typically, these men are in their early 20s and are the baby's father or the mother's boyfriend. Women who inflict SBS are more likely to be babysitters or child care providers...