Not all unexplained injuries are caused by the parents

by Christina England

July 16, 2009

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/110426

More and more parents are being accused of Shaken Baby Syndrome each year. In the USA alone an estimated 1200 – 1400 cases every year occur as a direct result of Shaken Baby Syndrome. These are the figures shown on the Shaken Baby website but are they portraying an accurate picture of an area of child abuse that is said to be on the increase? It is difficult to imagine this number of children are being abused in this way in the USA every year, given that this is just one area of child abuse, yet sadly more and more parents are being accused of SBS than ever before. However, before accusing parents of this terrible crime and jumping to conclusions should the medical profession be also looking at other more obvious causes of these children's injuries?

Dr. John Lancon has defined shaken baby syndrome as the constellation of non-accidental intracranial and ocular hemorrhages occurring in infants and young children. Other injuries that are said to indicate SBS and are very often seen include cutaneous bruises, lacerations, burns, parenchymal brain injuries, rib fractures, extremity fractures, and injuries to various internal organs, however, many parents accused of SBS present children to ER with no obvious marks that indicate physical abuse. So why are more and more of these parents being accused of SBS? Could there actually be another cause for why so many babies are said to abused in this way?

Many explanations have been given to explain why parents or carers may shake a small child, frustration, anger, tiredness and post natal depression are all explanations which have been used but these are all factors that have been around for centuries, so why the sudden rise in SBS cases? There are of course many social factors to consider when looking at a possible case of SBS, these are poverty, drugs, alcohol, unemployment but one factor very rarely taken into consideration when investigating a case of suspected SBS or SIDS and that is vaccination. This is worrying a growing number of professionals world wide, as these professionals believe that many cases of so called SBS arise very shortly after vaccination.

Many cases of SBS follow a similar pattern so Toni Blake from the Shaken Baby Syndrome Defense Fund San Diego USA believes and she explained just what this pattern is to Leslie Botha of Holy Hormones Honey on a recent radio show hosted by Leslie. Toni discussed the subject of SBS, vaccinations and false accusations and what she has witnessed over and over again. Toni specializes in defending parents and caretakers accused of shaken baby syndrome, she described to Leslie and the audience, what evidence she has seen emerging in many of the cases she has seen. She says that many of the cases tend to have the following characteristics:

1.Many babies came from problem pregnancies including prematurity.

2. Babies have low birth weights

3.Mothers suffer from diabetes

4.Some of the mothers have a drugs or alcohol problem which has continued through out the pregnancy

5.Many babies had suffered from subdural brain hemorrhages.

6.Many of the babies examined had unexplained fractures.

7.Many of the babies had become ill soon after routine vaccines.

She explained that she also is seeing a growing number of infant complications occurring in groups very often around 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months of age and most infant complications and collapses occurred with 11 or 12 days of vaccinations. Toni is convinced that vaccination plays a major part in causing symptoms that mimic those said to be caused in cases of SBS.

Is she right? We are seeing a growing number of very sick, very premature babies being given the routine vaccinations simply because they reach the age of two months chronologically, however many of these children have not even reached the day they were due to be born. They are weak, under developed and struggling for life, then along comes a doctor and vaccinates them with a variety of virus's, toxins and chemicals and then they are surprised when these babies are brought into ER sometimes within hours, desperately ill, convulsing and fighting for their lives, with brain haemorrhages and other injuries. Then unable to find a plausable reason to explain their injuries, they accuse these parents of abuse simply because they can find no other explanation that fits their tick boxes.

Leslie was also joined on her show by Dr Moulden and Belinda a falsely accused mother. Dr Moulden as usual gave an exceptional account of what he has seen in some of these cases that he has dealt with over the years. For those who are unfamiliar with Dr Andrew Moulden's brilliant work go to BrainGuardMD where you can find his work and where you can purchase his amazing DVD's.

The radio show was a brilliant success and Leslie Botha must be congratulated on all her efforts to highlight how parents can and often are falsely accused of child abuse. There are more shows to follow, not only covering SBS but also on other false allegations that sometimes parents have to face when they have vaccine damaged children.

Dr Michael Innis agrees with Toni Blake and offers another possible explanation. Dr Innis has written a paper entitled Vaccines, Apparent Life-Threatening Events, Barlow's Disease, and Questions about Shaken Baby Syndrome

Journal of the American Physicians and Surgeons.

In his paper Dr Innis describes the symptoms of Barlow's Disease, which is a deficiency in Vitamin C in infancy and says that Barlow's Disease mimics 'battered baby' as the illness presents with multiple hemorrhages and fractures.

Dr Innis believes that vaccinations can be a cause or a contributory factor to a vitamin C deficiency in infants. A vitamin C deficiency can he believes cause injuries and the brain haemorrhages often seen in babies reported as SBS cases.

In his paper he highlights two cases both of which were described as SBS cases. Both babies were formula fed and both babies had mothers who smoked. In case one the mother had a urinary tract infection and iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy. She was treated with antibiotics and ferrous sulphate. At the babies routine two month check the babies navel had not healed and some bright red discharge was noted. The baby was given routine vaccinations which included DtaP, Hib and Hep B. These were repeated two months later. The night after the second set of vaccinations the baby was admitted to ER not breathing and although baby survived examination revealed evidence of an intracranial bleed and bilateral retinal hemorrhages, also after a skeletal survey,findings consistent with a nondisplaced fracture of the distal left tibia was revealed and two weeks later the report stated, the previously noted nondisplaced left distal tibial fracture is not well seen. Injures were attributed to SBS.

In case two the mother had been continually sick during pregnancy and weighed less at the end of her pregnancy than before she was pregnant. Due to the continual vomiting she was unable to absorb the vitamins and iron she was given, similarly to the first case she also smoked throughout the pregnancy and fed the baby with formula baby milk. The baby was given a IM injection of 1mg vitamin K at birth.

At about three weeks the baby woke screaming seemed in pain and vomited. The next day the mother noticed bruising when bathing her.

At eight weeks the baby was given her routine vaccinations DTaP, Hib and Meningitis C from then on she refused feeds and began vomiting. She was admitted into hospital 6 days after vaccinations but returned home where at 11 days she collapsed while being bottle fed and went floppy. She died in hospital after resuscitation attempts were made.

Radiological findings included a subdural haemorrhage, 12 fractures, involving all four limbs, and seven rib, fractures of varying ages. These findings were confirmed at post-mortem examination.

Dr Innis found these similarities in both cases.

1. The mothers had documented nutritional problems and were unwell during their pregnancies.

2. The mothers smoked during their pregnancies, thereby lowering their own and their infants.vitamin C levels.

3. Both infants were being formula fed at the time of their illnesses, and the mothers were not advised to give supplemental vitamin C.

4. Both parents reported early evidence consistent with Barlow.s disease: spontaneous bruising in one infant and delayed wound healing in the other.

5. Both infants had deficiencies in essential and non-essential amino acids necessary for the production of normal collagen, which is essential to prevent scurvy.

6.Both infants had evidence of liver dysfunction.

Unexplained fractures were recorded in both children. In addition to the low amino acid levels, the second infant had additional evidence of malnutrition in that the serum albumin, calcium, and haemoglobin levels were all low.

Dr Innis says that vaccinations should be considered in cases of SBS as well as evidence of scurvy which is a vitamin C deficiency, healthcare professionals also need to look for liver dysfunction.

He says "Apparent Life-Threatening Events (ALTEs), as defined by the National Institutes of Health, encompass all the findings hitherto attributed to .Shaken Baby Syndrome. (SBS), and may follow routine vaccination. Vaccines may also induce vitamin C deficiency (Barlow.s disease), especially in formula-fed infants or infants whose mothers smoke. This could account for some of the changes seen in these infants, including hemorrhages, bruises, and fractures. Vitamin C deficiency should be excluded in patients suspected to have SBS."

Instead of blaming the parents, locking innocent parents in prison and wrecking families by tearing them apart from their loved ones, healthcare professionals need to listen to many experts from around the world and look at other possible causes. Blaming the parents should be a last resort not the easy option to cover up gross incompetence.