New book on the scientific controversy surrounding Shaken Baby Syndrome

May 16, 2023

I'm delighted to present the book I've been working on for the past few years with several colleagues, which is just being published by Cambridge University Press: Shaken Baby Syndrome: Investigating the Abusive Head Trauma Controversy.

This is an academic, collaborative, multidisciplinary book exploring the scientific controversy surrounding Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), also known as Abusive Head Trauma (AHT).

Thirty-two experts from 16 disciplines across 8 countries address various medical, scientific, and legal aspects of this contentious subject. While the existence and severity of abusive head injuries are not in doubt, the debate revolves around the scientific and forensic reliability of medical determinations of violent shaking, when they rely solely on unexplained isolated intracranial findings.

In 464 pages and 26 chapters, the book comprehensively covers a wide range of topics and issues. These include reviews of radiological and neuropathological findings in alleged cases of SBS, some of their known medical causes, biomechanical and epidemiological aspects, police interrogation techniques and the issue of false confessions, cognitive biases among medical experts, evidence standards in courts, and the challenges involved in overturning wrongful convictions.

It also explores how SBS/AHT cases are handled internationally, examining practices in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Japan, Australia, as well as China, India, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Spain, and many other countries.

This book will be of interest to all professionals involved in these cases: medical doctors and other healthcare professionals, social workers, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, police officers, as well as researchers, students, and affected families.

Useful links:

Preorder now: