Shaking infant trauma induced by misuse of a baby chair
- 1The Lindisfarne Centre, Department of Child Health, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- 2School of Engineering, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, UK
- Correspondence to:
Dr C de San Lazaro, The Lindisfarne Centre, Department of Child Health, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK;
mjatemple{at}1langdale.freeserve.co.uk
- Accepted 8 November 2002
Abstract
A 2 month old infant presented with bilateral subdural haemorrhages and bilateral subhyaloid haemorrhage. The parent admitted to forceful bouncing of the child in a baby rocker. Experiments showed that violent rocking in the chair could produce extreme alternating acceleration/deceleration forces in excess of those induced by shaking alone. Such handling could not be interpreted as accidental mismanagement and the abusive nature of the process was graphically shown in video recordings of the experiment. Prosecution resulted in a conviction for cruelty, and a suspended sentence.
