The Five Percenters stands for the 1 in 20 cases routinely misdiagnosed as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).
We are campaigning for 24:14 - a nationwide protocol in all UK hospitals to allow doctors to tell the difference between abuse and non-abuse. (see: 3 Things)
These are the statistics according
to most Doctors in Britain:
- 95% of shaken baby syndrome cases are
proven
- up to 250 children die each year from
Shaken baby Syndrome’
- in the very young infants, deliberately
inflicted injuries to the head are believed to be the most common form
of death
The recent acquittal of Suzzane Holdsworth a baby sitter and the case of the late Sally Clarke has brought the subject of child abuse specifically in the area of
head injury into the news headlines again. We would like to show the other
side of the coin, when parents and carers are wrongly accused of Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Over 500 families from the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Canada, Sweden and Iceland have now contacted us with
similar stories, in relation to SBS,
since we went public with our case.
Undetected Birth Trauma
6 month old baby boy collapsed with a seizure. Mother wrongly accused of SBS when subdural bleed was found. Medical notes which registered an abnormal Head Circumference before he was discharged from hospital after his birth - went missing on the day they were accused. Notes were later found and clearly showed birth trauma not SBS.
Misdiagnosis - Missed Cot Death
Mother accused of shaken
baby syndrome after baby suddenly died in the grandfathers arms. Cot death
(SIDS) was proved after a post mortem. Ironically the death of the baby
in this case freed the family - had she not died then the mother, sister
and grandparents would have been charged with attempted murder.
Infection
A registered childminder and mother of
a baby aged 8 months were also wrongly accused of ‘shaken baby syndrome,
when the baby collapsed and stopped breathing. Our case prompted the police
to drop charges against them.
Undiagnosed Vaccine Damage
Baby died suddenly on day that it received
a vaccination. Mother was charged with murder by shaking. Pathologist admitted
he did not know what had killed the baby - yet SBS was diagnosed. Mother was
freed on appeal after serving three years in prison, after medical evidence which was
deliberately suppressed at the original trial was found. This showed that baby had an
overwhelming infection on the day that he collapsed. Cot death not shaking was the
factor in this case.
British mothers and families are being wrongly accused
of inflicting brain injury on their children. They have been arrested and
charged with Shaken Baby Syndrome - causing brain injury by shaking their
baby - only to be completely exonerated after a nightmare ordeal.
However, medical experts believe that even
with the above statistics, mistakes are being made and people wrongly accused.
The Five Percenters: sbs5@dircon.co.uk |
