Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T12:10:55.124Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 22 - Shaken Baby Syndrome in France

from Section 5 - International

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2023

By
Cyrille Rossant  and
Grégoire Etrillard
Edited by
Keith A. Findley ,
Cyrille Rossant ,
Kana Sasakura ,
Leila Schneps ,
Waney Squier  and
Knut Wester
Keith A. Findley
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Cyrille Rossant
Affiliation:
University College London
Kana Sasakura
Affiliation:
Konan University, Japan
Leila Schneps
Affiliation:
Sorbonne Université, Paris
Waney Squier
Affiliation:
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford
Knut Wester
Affiliation:
Universitetet i Bergen, Norway
Get access

Summary

This chapter reviews how shaken baby syndrome cases are handled in France. Since 2011, national health guidelines published by the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) prompt all healthcare professionals to report to the police all infants with components of the ‘triad’, including subdural haematoma and retinal haemorrhage. The scientific foundations behind these guidelines have been extensively criticised, and their repeal has been requested in front of the French administrative Supreme Court (Conseil d’État). Hundreds of families claiming to be victims of wrongful allegations of child abuse due to medical errors have gathered in an association, Adikia, the largest organization of this kind in the world. Declarative statistics obtained by this association yield interesting insight into wrongful medical determinations of SBS, including the issue of false confessions that is pervasive despite the absence of a formal plea bargaining process in the French criminal justice system.

Keywords

Francemiscarriages of justicefalse confessionsHaute Autorité de SantéHASmedical guidelinesAdikia
Type
Chapter
Information
Shaken Baby Syndrome
Investigating the Abusive Head Trauma Controversy
 , pp. 333 - 349
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Duhaime, AC, Gennarelli, TA, Thibault, LE et al. The shaken baby syndrome: A clinical, pathological, and biomechanical study. Journal of Neurosurgery. 1987;66(3):409–15.Google Scholar
Labrune, M. Le syndrome du bébé secoué: La controverse sur l’ambiguïté des symptômes. 2004. https://controverses.minesparis.psl.eu//prive/promo03/C03B8/accueil/jeuaccueil.htm.Google Scholar
Renier, D. Le bébé secoué: Traumatisme crânien du nourrisson. Karthala, 2001.Google Scholar
Choudhary, AK, Servaes, S, Slovis, TL et al. Consensus statement on abusive head trauma in infants and young children. Pediatric Radiology. 2018;48(8):1048–65.Google Scholar
Roussey, M, Dabadie, A, Betrémieux, P et al. Des sévices pas toujours évidents: l’enfant secoué. Archives of French Pediatrics. 1987;44:441–4.Google Scholar
Mireau, E. Syndrome du bébé secoué: Hématome sous-dural du nourrisson et maltraitance, à propos d’une série de 404 cas. Thèse de médecine. Université de Paris V, 2005.Google Scholar
Haute Autorité de Santé. Syndrome du bébé secoué. Synthèse bibliographique. Haute Autorité de Santé, 2011.Google Scholar
Hughes, LA, May, K, Talbot, JF, Parsons, MA. Incidence, distribution, and duration of birth-related retinal hemorrhages: A prospective study. Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. 2006;10(2):102–6.Google ScholarPubMed
Papasian, NC, Frim, DM. A theoretical model of benign external hydrocephalus that predicts a predisposition towards extra-axial hemorrhage after minor head trauma. Pediatric Neurosurgery. 2000;33:188–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raul, JS, Roth, S, Ludes, B, Willinger, R. Influence of the benign enlargement of the subarachnoid space on the bridging veins strain during a shaking event: A finite element study. International Journal of Legal Medicine. 2008;122:337–40.Google Scholar
Tardy-Joubert, S. Contre-enquête sur les bébés secoués. Revue XXI. 2022;(58):84–101.Google Scholar
Bechtel, K, Stoessel, K, Leventhal, JM. Characteristics that distinguish accidental from abusive injury in hospitalized young children with head trauma. Pediatrics. 2004;114(1):165–8.Google Scholar
Hymel, KP, Makoroff, KL, Laskey, AL, Conaway, MR, Blackman, JA. Mechanisms, clinical presentations, injuries, and outcomes from inflicted versus noninflicted head trauma during infancy: Results of a prospective, multicentered, comparative study. Pediatrics. 2007;119(5):922–9S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roth, S, Raul, JS, Ludes, B, Willinger, R. Finite element analysis of impact and shaking inflicted to a child. International Journal of Legal Medicine. 2007;121(3):223–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fujiwara, T, Yamada, F, Okuyama, M et al. Effectiveness of educational materials designed to change knowledge and behavior about crying and shaken baby syndrome: A replication of a randomized controlled trial in Japan. Child Abuse and Neglect. 2012;36(9):613–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zahl, SM, Mack, JA, Rossant, C, et al. Thrombosis is not a marker of bridging vein rupture in infants with alleged abusive head trauma. Acta Paediatrica. 2021;110(10):2686–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15908.Google Scholar
Échenne, B, Couture, A, Sébire, G. Le syndrome du bébé secoué: Hématomes sous-duraux et collections péri-cérébrales du petit nourrisson. Sauramps Médical, 2020.Google Scholar
Chadwick, DL, Chin, S, Salerno, C, Landsverk, J, Kitchen, L. Deaths from falls in children: How far is fatal? Journal of Trauma. 1991;31(10):1353–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanchez, M. Le rôle du juge des enfants face au SBS. Gazette du Palais. 2018;6(329):71–5.Google Scholar
Rey-Salmon, C, de Boissieu, P, Teglas, JP, Adamsbaum, C. Abusive head trauma in day care centers. Pediatrics. 2020;146(6):e2020013771.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schneps, L, Rossant, C. Response to abusive head trauma in daycare centers, Rey-Salmon. 2020. https://pubpeer.com/publications/5981C32FF7BFD42A2C28C5CC3BF33B.Google Scholar
Bombarde, S, Bombarde, Y. Plus jamais sans toi, Louna. Michel Lafon, 2018.Google Scholar
Vinchon, M et al. Confessed versus denied inflicted head injuries in infants: Similarities and differences. Child’s Nervous System. 2022;38(1):147–52.Google ScholarPubMed
Adamsbaum, C, Grabar, S, Mejean, N, Rey-Salmon, C. Abusive head trauma: Judicial admissions highlight violent and repetitive shaking. Pediatrics. 2010;126(3):546–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vinchon, M, de Foort-Dhellemmes, S, Desurmont, M, Delestret, I. Confessed abuse versus witnessed accidents in infants:  Comparison of clinical, radiological, and ophthalmological data in corroborated cases. Child’s Nervous System. 2010;26(5):637–45.Google Scholar
Blagrove, M. Effects of length of sleep deprivation on interrogative suggestibility. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. 1996;2(1):48–59.Google Scholar
Capelier, F. L’affaire Marina, un cas d’école pour étudier la protection de l’enfance. Journal du droit des jeunes. 2012;8(318):13–21. https://doi.org/10.3917/jdj.318.0013.Google Scholar
Gueguen, C. Vivre heureux avec son enfant: un nouveau regard sur l’éducation au quotidien grâce aux neurosciences affectives. Robert Laffont, 2015.Google Scholar
Mannes, I, Drissi, C, Adamsbaum, C. Imaging findings in abusive head trauma (AHT). Child’s Nervous System. 2022;1–10.Google Scholar
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. Shaken baby syndrome: Rotational cranial injuries-technical report. Pediatrics. 2001;108(1):206–10.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×