Case Study: Shaken Baby Syndrome - One Disorder with Two Victims

Shaken Baby Syndrome is a complex disorder with implications for family members (especially the victim's mother) that are felt long after the emergency diagnosis and treatment of the child are concluded. The authors conducted a Women's Support Group for parolees over a two year period. Included in its group membership were several women who had been jailed for child abuse related crimes. This article synthesizes the significant progress in the research from the medical, legal, social, nursing, and preventive health perspectives on Shaken Baby Syndrome. A case study is used to illustrate the phenomenon of victimization of the mother, typically the nonoffending parent in Shaken Baby Syndrome. The difficulties of diagnosing Shaken Baby Syndrome in a timely manner are presented with emphasis on the diagnostic ambiguities confronting the various medical and nursing providers and nonoffending perpetrators. The case study attempts to raise the consciousness of nurses, with whom the nonoffending parents come into contact in the vast array of health service settings, as well as provide specific recommendations for enhancing community health nursing practice.