Shaken Baby Syndrome - Prognosis



The prognosis for shaken baby syndrome is usually not good. A significant number of babies who are mistreated die.

Many others suffer serious, long-term damage that will stay with them throughout their lives. Injuries that cause blindness, mental retardation, or loss of motor (muscular) control, for example, are permanent. They can not be repaired. Rehabilitation, however, can help a child learn to live and cope with their new disability.

Shaking is more likely to injure a baby than an older child or adult because a baby's neck muscles are still weak, its head is still relatively large and heavy compared to its body size, and the baby's brain tissue and blood vessels are still quite fragile. (Reproduced by permission of Electronic Illustrators Group)
Shaking is more likely to injure a baby than an older child or adult because a baby's neck muscles are still weak, its head is still relatively large and heavy compared to its body size, and the baby's brain tissue and blood vessels are still quite fragile. (Reproduced by permission of
Electronic Illustrators Group
)

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