He was the second baby that this happy committed and close-knit family these wonderful parents deserved

He was the second baby that this happy, committed, and close-knit family, these wonderful parents, deserved.Silly, of course. No baby is more or less deserving of such an awful fate, no normal parents, more or less deserving of such agony. Nevertheless, when the baby was moved to a paediatric ward, when he began to eat and thrive and behave just like his jolly self, it felt like natural justice. All was well with the world again, and soon this family would be back at home where they belonged.Which was why it was so utterly surreal when the phone call came. There was the mother on the end of the line, saying words that were ungraspable: “They’re taking my baby away from me. They won’t let him come home with us.”The hospital’s medical evidence suggested to them that this baby’s injuries could not be the result of a fall, or at least not only the result of a fall.

Even if the accident had occurred just as the father had described it, retinal haemorrhaging detected in the baby’s eyes suggested that the baby had been shaken as well. The police had been informed and would be making an investigation Social services were handling the case. The baby would not be released from hospital into the care of his parents. He would only, for his own safety, be released into foster care.The retinal haemorrhaging, one consultant at the hospital estimated, might have taken place at any time in the month before the admission to hospital, and could only have been caused by violent and extended shaking. In this time, baby had been left alone twice with carers other than his parents Both would be questioned by the police.

The best possible hope at this time was that one of them would admit to having shaken the baby, unaware of the damage that such an action could cause. Often, when shaking is admitted, it is looked upon sympathetically Sometimes it is not. But in any case, a confession from a carer would be a solution that made some sense.Anyway, there was some dispute over the time-frame of the alleged incident. Another heavyweight medical opinion held that these eye injuries could only have been inflicted while the child was in the care of one of his parents, in the 12 hours before admission.Instead, as the pendulum of blame swung wildly, so did the attitudes of the parents. At times when it seemed that the carers were implicated, the parents were acquiescent to the diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome, and wanted desperately to find out what had happened to their son. At other times, when the full force of suspicion fell on them, the only logical explanation, for them, was that this diagnosis was simply wrong.It would not, sadly, be the first time such a thing has happened. If one is not closely involved with a situation such as this, it seems sensible to accept that in the battle to protect children from abuse, it is best to err on the side of caution.