<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Around the world, questions are being asked about shaken baby syndrome and the validity of the science behind it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Doctors, scientists, and lawyers across the UK and parts of the US have challenged the diagnosis, which has been used to separate children from their parents and put people behind bars.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But here in Australia, there's been "no conversation about it at all" – until now.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/prince-andrew-to-be-stripped-of-prince-title-move-out-royal-lodge/0104e49a-d3b0-4673-8fc6-e2d22f00d2d8" target="_blank"><strong><span>Prince Andrew to be stripped of all royal titles, evicted from residence</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Award-winning journalist Michael Bachelard admitted he was hesitant to be the one to start the conversation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That changed when he heard the stories of real Australian families torn apart by allegations of child abuse based on shaken baby syndrome diagnoses that, according to the parents, just weren't true.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It just seemed to me such a clear example of where the medical diagnosis had run ahead of all of the other evidence," Bachelard told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/shaken-baby-syndrome-podcast-diagnosing-murder-exclusive/2777d443-e4ee-4d01-975a-e772ed5172b2" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The injustice of it made it seem like I couldn't ignore this."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>What is shaken baby syndrome?</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shaken baby syndrome, also known as abusive or inflicted head trauma, is a medical diagnosis based on research that dates back to the 1970s.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The original theory was that there may be a link between babies being shaken by their parents and developing subdural haematomas, or bleeding on the brain.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the '90s, that theory shifted into a new hypothesis; that parents were knowingly or intentionally harming babies by violently shaking them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This formed the basis for shaken baby syndrome, which was diagnosed based on three key clinical findings formally known as "the triad":</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><span>subdural haemorrhage - a specific kind of bleeding on the brain</span></li><li><span>retinal haemorrhage - bleeding in the tissue behind the eye</span></li><li><span>brain swelling</span></li></ul></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The diagnosis based on the triad became widely accepted and even came to be used as evidence of abuse in court cases.</span></div></div><div><iframe frameborder="0" height="150px" src="https://omny.fm/shows/diagnosing-murder/episode-1-the-theory/embed?style=cover" width="100%"></iframe></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>'There are questions being asked'</span></strong><span></span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Child abuse is abhorrent and perpetrators should face justice.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the science behind shaken baby syndrome and the triad is shaky and unproven, prompting a growing number of experts to question how it is diagnosed and used as evidence in court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We talk about the cost, as we rightly should, of child abuse," Bachelard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But there's also a cost in getting it wrong the other way, in falsely accusing parents or carers of abuse ... and that's a cost we don't often look at."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He explores that cost in </span><em><span>Diagnosing Murder</span></em><span>, a four-part investigative podcast series from </span><em><span>The Age</span></em><span> and </span><em><span>The Sydney Morning</span></em><span> </span><em><span>Herald.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/thunderstorms-heavy-rain-forecast-nsw-queensland/bf4331c3-15dc-4f83-ac67-753f7a47433f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Millions facing storms 'every day' for nearly a week</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In it, he interviews families, lawyers, doctors, and other experts to understand why shaken baby syndrome has faced scrutiny abroad but not in Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Especially when it can take such a devastating toll on Australian families.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It surprised me how the science of shaken baby syndrome, or as people now call it, abusive or inflicted head trauma, began and how it then evolved," Bachelard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And the difficulty of making any firm proof that there is an association between shaking and the medical symptoms and signs that are attributed to it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's especially concerning when you consider the number of Australian parents who have found themselves in children's court or facing prosecution over allegations of abuse based on a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis that may not be scientifically sound.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The people who diagnose it or adhere to the current orthodoxy around it are usually well-intentioned.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But when the science behind these diagnoses isn't accurate, the outcomes can be devastating.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We should be questioning the science that we rely on in court, particularly when people are either having their children taken away in the children's court, or going on and being prosecuted," Bachelard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We should be open to questions and some of those questions are difficult, but if people are being sent to prison or having their children removed wrongly on a diagnosis that doesn't stack up scientifically, that's terrible.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That's something we should all worry about."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>The human cost</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kabir, Dipika, and their daughter Dua are one such family.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In 2021, the Melbourne couple rushed their daughter to hospital after she went limp at home and though she recovered, clinical findings led forensic doctors to believe she was a victim of shaken baby syndrome.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As the last person who had held her, Kabir became their prime suspect.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was accused of child abuse and Dua was removed from her parents' care despite Kabir's insistence that he was innocent.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The fact that they were prepared to sit down with me and tell me their stories also shows me how how deep they felt the injustice has been," Bachelard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And the fact that they're prepared to risk exposure and backlash to tell their stories, you know, I was really impressed by their courage."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/gus-lamont-updates-police-return-to-remote-homestead-in-search-for-missing-toddler/8bd49656-8fe5-4e76-bb60-cfe1672eb226" target="_blank"><strong><span>Searchers draining dam today in renewed search for missing boy Gus</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kabir and Dipika aren't alone.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bachelard spoke to other parents accused of harming their children based on shaken baby syndrome diagnoses and has been contacted by more since the podcast started airing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's not the response he expected.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I expected a pretty large backlash," Bachelard confessed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But a number of responses we've had have been, 'this has happened to me,' or 'this is happening to me'.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That response has really encouraged me to think this is worthwhile, this is something worth raising and hoping that we can prompt the discussion."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>What comes next?</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dissenting voices are still emerging in Australia and Bachelard is hopeful that in the near future, conversation will turn into action.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>What form that action takes remains to be seen.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There have been calls for an inquiry into convictions based on shaken baby syndrome diagnoses and the questionable triad of clinical symptoms behind them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If we're interested in avoiding wrongful convictions, and if we're interested in trying to avoid the pain and suffering that these accusations can cause, then I think we do need, as a system and as a country, to take a closer look at it," Bachelard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And I do hope that this podcast helps prompt that conversation."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Listen to</span></em><span> </span><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/podcast/diagnosingmurder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Diagnosing Murder"><em><span>Diagnosing Murder</span></em></a><span> </span><em><span>on </span></em><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/diagnosing-murder/id1843555473" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Apple Podcasts"><em><span>Apple Podcasts</span></em></a><em><span>,</span></em><span> </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3LqYqSCZHW4vtA0yhiaJKB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Spotify"><em><span>Spotify</span></em></a><span> </span><em><span>or wherever you get your podcasts.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Have you got a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter Maddison Leach at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:mleach@nine.com.au" target="_blank" title="mleach@nine.com.au"><strong><em><span>mleach@nine.com.au</span></em></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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