Woman Arrested For Child Abuse

[GlitterRose]

I found this...

MSbP is rare. A recent systematic study in Italy found that in a series of over 700 patients admitted to a pediatric ward, 4 cases met the diagnostic criteria for MSbP (0.53%).

That's actually more cases than I expected. 

I wonder if there are far more that are never detected and that it's more prevalent than even docs realize. 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiYsY7sxpHYAhWG5yYKHddyA74QFggxMAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFactitious_disorder_imposed_on_another&usg=AOvVaw11m2ehxOgFJiqKeGb-0Mqp

[+susieice]

1 minute ago, ChaosRose said:

And I'll bet that there are plenty of exploratory surgeries someone can manage to convince well-meaning docs to do, especially if they claim their child is suffering.

Of course a doc would want to figure out what's wrong, not even imagining that the mom could be doing this on purpose. 

You need to do tests to confirm an illness. They would have come back negative if they were done. Putting a feeding tube in is more than exploratory. There should have been a CAT scan done to confirm there was a problem even before exploratory was considered. Exploratory should have shown nothing was wrong. It takes a biopsy to confirm cancer. It would have come back negative. Why did these doctors just take her word for it?

[GlitterRose]

Just now, susieice said:

You need to do tests to confirm an illness. They would have come back negative if they were done. Putting a feeding tube in is more than exploratory. There should have been a CAT scan done to confirm there was a problem even before exploratory was considered. Exploratory should have shown nothing was wrong. It takes a biopsy to confirm cancer. It would have come back negative. Why did these doctors just take her word for it?

My guess is she presents as a distraught mother and her child has the scars of previous surgeries. 

They bought it.

They shouldn't have, but who would think this? 

I guess it's part of their job to consider this possibility, and that is sad in itself. 

[GlitterRose]

I'm trying really hard to figure this out, so here's my feeding tube guess.

A mom presents with a child she says has a milk allergy, and who continues to not gain weight no matter what they do for him.

(They can't possibly know that she's likely starving him). 

They're probably concerned that he has other issues, but right now, he needs nutrition. 

Enter feeding tube. 

[+susieice]

What I found says Munchausen by Proxy is rare, but it could just be under diagnosed. If she was acting ill herself, it would have been Munchausen as no one else was involved. From what I see in this case, it may be that doctors just don't know how to diagnosis this. The family courts definitely didn't know how to recognize the symptoms. They knew how much she was taking this child to doctors and all the surgeries he had.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5177043/Man-fights-custody-son-fake-illness-plot.html

[GlitterRose]

I guess I can see how some of these things could happen. Some of them. 

I certainly can't see how 323 visits and all of those surgeries happened.

 

[GlitterRose]

Just now, susieice said:

What I found says Munchausen by Proxy is rare, but it could just be under diagnosed. If she was acting ill herself, it would have been Munchausen as no one else was involved. From what I see in this case, it may be that doctors just don't know how to diagnosis this. The family courts definitely didn't know how to recognize the symptoms. They knew how much she was taking this child to doctors and all the surgeries he had.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5177043/Man-fights-custody-son-fake-illness-plot.html

Sounds like they needed some medical professionals to clue them in. 

[GlitterRose]

It's just such a sad story. And it makes you want to see that woman suffer. 

It looks like they just acknowledged Munchausen by Proxy in the DSM V. That sure took long enough.

No wonder docs don't know much about it. 

Edited December 17, 2017 by ChaosRose

[+susieice]

There's a possibility that some people have Munchausen to a lesser degree than what this woman presented. Some people may have the illness, some may just be attention getters. I think this may be a hard disease to diagnosis unless someone is really paying attention. Hopefully, these fathers will bring it into more of the court's and public's attention, so if you see something like this going on, you can call attention to it before it's too late.

[GlitterRose]

On 12/14/2017 at 11:14 PM, and then said:

It sounds like Munchausen's by proxy.  What a bizarre syndrome that is.  There was a great example of it in M Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense.  Remember the scene where a girl's ghost under a bed grabs the kid's ankle?  She had been killed by her mom who was suffering from Munchausen's.

The 9th Life of Louis Drax was also about this, and also introduces some supernatural elements. I thought it was a decent movie. 

[GlitterRose]

Just now, susieice said:

There's a possibility that some people have Munchausen to a lesser degree than what this woman presented. Some people may have the illness, some may just be attention getters. I think this may be a hard disease to diagnosis unless someone is really paying attention. Hopefully, these fathers will bring it into more of the court's and public's attention, so if you see something like this going on, you can call attention to it before it's too late.

I think when a case like this happens, suddenly it's on people's minds, and for at least a time...it's less likely to slip by.

Unfortunately, enough time passes, and people are right back to being oblivious. Amnesia sets in quick.

[+susieice]

Here's an article about Munchausen. When it involves another person, it's Munchausen by Proxy. Would love to know if this woman presented symptoms earlier in life. Were her parents sick a lot? Was she? People need to be educated to watch for someone who is displaying these symptoms.

https://www.emedicinehealth.com/munchausen_syndrome/article_em.htm