Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome

Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome

Some of you may remember back in 1995 a story covered on about every news station about a young girl named Jennifer Bush who had been hospitalized 200 times and had undergone over 40 surgeries including the removal of most of her intestines. By the time she was eight years old. Or what about a story that wasn't on the news about a young boy who lived down the street from me that I grew up with and was friends with who in the course of one year had been admitted to the hospital over 20 times for asthma, severe pneumonia, mysterious infections, and sudden fevers. The doctors had no idea in either case what was causing the problems. They may just sound like sick children but both of these cases are the cause of a very severe form of child abuse called Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome. Also known as MBPS. Not all of us in here have children but some of us are expecting and others of us know children from friends or even family members. But do you every stop and think to yourself could someone be hurting that child. I will be discussing What MBPS is Why it happens and What happens to the children. Now that I have your attention lets talk about what this problem is.

Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome is a condition in which an individual (usually a mother) deliberately makes their preschool aged child sick. The parent will mislead others (doctors, friends, family) into believing that their child has medical problems. They will do this by lying, exaggerating, fabricating or even inducing the symptoms themselves. Which in turn the doctors will order more tests, try different medicines and even admit the patient to the hospital sometimes for surgery to try and find the cause of the problem.

Now that you know what MBPS is you may be thinking what would make someone do that to a child. There are quite a few reasons According to KidsHealth magazine. Sometimes the parent was abused sexually or physically as a child. Or maybe the parent grew up in a household where being sick was a good way to get love and attention. Other theories Say that it is a cry out for help because the parent is suffering with anxiety or depression or they may have feelings of being inadequate in their parenting abilities. Some say they may even feel a sense of Acknowledgement when a doctor confirms their care giving skills. Diagnosing Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome is extremely difficult do to the fact that the mothers are caring and loving and are extremely concerned with their child's well being or so that's how they come across. It can take months or even sometimes a year or more before a doctor can diagnose a patient with Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome.

We have discusses what the disease is and what causes it so lets now look at what happens to the children. According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In the most severe cases cameras were