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A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

cambridgeblog.org

181–190 of 639 posts

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#181
This doesn’t surprise me. We have massive systemic issues in medical science and care delivery.

- Medical science handles variation by simply assuming that large enough samples will average out variation. This loses a ton of information as the “average person” is a construct that almost certainly doesn’t exist.

- news media on medical science glosses over all uncertainties in the name of clickbaity sensationalism.

- lawyers are the incentivized by our adversarial legal system to adopt aggressively hyperbolic interpretations of the science to sue people and extract money.

- medical associations then tweak policies to protect against malpractice

Run this loop enough times and lots of noise gets amplified.

My hope is the AI+sensors ushers in the era of truely personalized medicine.

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#182

This always scared me because I don't even know what counts as shaking. Can you accidentally shake a baby? Can my 2 year old daughter get shaken baby syndrome when older children on an inflatable castle with her jump and bounce too wild around her (she can't jump yet but loves the bouncing)? I've also often seen parents throw their children a bit in the air and then catch them. The children like it and laugh. I'm not…

To protect against all possible harm against your child, perhaps consider wrapping them in a giant balloon so they are isolated from all possible outside influences.

We either accept the randomness of fate or we live in self-made prisons.

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that a serious question? Yes, the French justice system is based on a presumption of innocence, just like any other functioning democratic nation. It is a basic human right under the UN charter after all.

You say that, but this doesn't seem like presumption of innocence. A country with a presumption of innocence doesn't take your child away from you without trial.

I'm willing to bet that almost all countries have a different standard of proof for taking a child away than for criminal trial, and none will wait for the outcome of a trial to do this.

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#184

The worst part here is: He spent months researching 500 medical papers to even realize this was a problem. No way in hell will a single defense lawyer get someone to be able to research enough to figure this out. As stated, how many people are in jail or lost their kids due to something that didn't actually happen. And how many people don't know that a minor bump in the head for a baby could be life threatening, but…

Similar case in Denmark/Romania where a baby was taken from his romanian parents because of the shaken baby syndrome, parents spent time in jail, but the hemorage continued over time so they had to concede it wasn't the shaken baby syndromd.

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#185

> As a precautionary measure, the hospital followed mandatory reporting statutes and my wife and I temporarily lost custody of David. Are people absolutely nuts? Is this just a thing in France or is this elsewhere in Europe or even the US? You're actively encouraging people to not bring their children to the ER by doing this crazy nonsense.

Definitely a UK thing too. If you take your kid to A&E you can guarantee every person who interacts with you is required to be on the lookout for abuse. You get probing questions by the doctors as veiled accusations and you may get protection services knocking on your door the next day.

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#186

Oh. And I thought that reddit outrage over the video of a father throwing his son in the air was just your standard modern hyperprotectiveness. Actually, the father risked lawsuit as it stands. The lack of common sense (and knowledge of physics) is off-putting.

Did you read the article? The article claims the reverse. That this is not a real problem.

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#187
post #174

Amazing that bit about child welfare organisations fighting against the science, when clearly taking children away based on false accusations is clearly far worse for the child’s welfare, not to mention the parents’! It’s just incredible the injustice that can be done in the name of protecting children. I really do wonder if it’s cultural or some kind of innate psychological irrarionality that seems stronger in some…

> Amazing that bit about child welfare organisations fighting against the science, when clearly taking children away based on false accusations is clearly far worse for the child’s welfare, not to mention the parents’! This is just speculation, but I bet those groups (or their members) aren't always calmly and coolly trying to find the best policies protect the welfare of children. Instead they feel themselves on a k…

> and what's more heroic than swooping in to take the child away from the clutches of the villain?

In a (somewhat) post-scarcity society attention from others is hard currency and narcissism is at an all time high.

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say that, but this doesn't seem like presumption of innocence. A country with a presumption of innocence doesn't take your child away from you without trial.

I'm willing to bet that almost all countries have a different standard of proof for taking a child away than for criminal trial, and none will wait for the outcome of a trial to do this.

I don't deny that many other countries may also be missing elements of the presumption of innocence.

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#189

My oldest son has special needs. He's 2e -- gifted and learning disabled -- and has a serious medical condition associated with being very underweight. I put him in preschool to get him to talk. He could use sentences but wasn't. At the start of kindergarten, first, second and third grade, I spoke with the teacher, explained he was difficult, let them know I welcomed communication on any issue. They were thrilled and…

What was the medical issue for your child being underweight, if you could please share that?

Re: A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy

#190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you consider a high quality diet? What would meals for a day look like to you?

If you haven’t already: find the accusation in your comment.

I think there is a class of internet bully that clusters around stories like this, not unlike the "think of the children crowd" mentioned in the article.
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