All pediatricians across Canada will be asked to track cases of shaken baby syndrome – brain injuries that cause 40 babies a year in the country to enter hospital.

In the devastating form of child abuse, babies are left with brain damage and fractures, or die after they've been shaken vigorously.

Now the Canadian Pediatric Society aims to document the real number of infants who suffer by asking every pediatrician across the country to file a monthly report.

Image of a damaged retina tells the tale of a shaken baby.
Image of a damaged retina tells the tale of a shaken baby.

The society hopes the three-year surveillance program will raise awareness among health professionals, allowing them to pick up on suspicious cases.

The last study that looked at the frequency of the syndrome in Canada found 364 cases over 10 years, but it only included patients at pediatric hospitals and is likely an underestimate, according to Dr. Roseanne Superstein, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Montreal Children's Hospital.

Spotting shaken baby syndrome

Dr. Roseanne Superstein, pediatric ophthalmologist .
Dr. Roseanne Superstein, pediatric ophthalmologist .

Hemorrhaging in the retina is one of the surest signs that a parent or caregiver has shaken a baby, thrashing a child's head back and forth at high velocity.

"They often report that the child had fallen down the staircase or off a crib," said Superstein. "It's been shown that these types of falls can't produce these types of injuries."

Shaken baby syndrome can go unnoticed if external injuries aren't apparent, but an infant may still suffer, said Dr. Laurel Chauvin-Kimoff of the hospital's child abuse services.

Ontario launches awareness program

This spring, Ontario is launching pilot programs to protect babies by alerting parents to the dangers.

As part of the provincial program, parents at two hospitals and two public health units will learn about how not to lose control with crying babies.

The program is modelled on a law in New York that requires all new parents to watch a short video about the syndrome. It's a project that has yielded impressive results.

"We have sustained a consistent 50 per cent decrease in the incidence of shaken baby syndrome since the program began in the western New York region," said Kathy deGuehery, a registered nurse who co-ordinates the project.