A Call for More Scrutiny in Cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome

For decades, the medical community has viewed the symptoms and diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome as an incontrovertible truth. Waney Squier spent many of these years offering expert testimony in court cases before new evidence convinced her to change her perspective. In this important talk, Waney explains her reasons for speaking out, argues a new case for Shaken Baby Syndrome and discusses the challenges she faced when she questioned the conventional way of thinking. Dr Waney Squier is a Consultant Neuropathologist to the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals and Honorary Clinical lecturer at University of Oxford.   Her specialism is in the pathology of the developing brain in the foetus and neonate. Other areas of interest are developmental causes of epilepsy and muscle pathology.   Dr Squier has carried out extensive research into the nature and timing of brain damage due to intrauterine and perinatal insults. As a result of this research, Dr Squier has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, edited a book on developmental brain damage, and acted as a prosecution and defence expert witness in cases of unexpected infant death.   However, her court testimonies were shrouded in controversy after she began to question the research evidence and in 2001 changed her mind about the causes for ‘shaken baby’ cases. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx