Medical child abuse (Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy)

ONE OF the highest responsibilities medical professionals hold is to recognize and report child abuse. An in-depth Globe series, however, exposes how little guidance and assistance doctors and nurses receive from the state about keeping young patients safe from “medical child abuse,” an ill-defined umbrella term used when parents are suspected of acting against the best interests of their child in a medical setting. Medical child abuse is the modern-day equivalent of what was once known as Munchausen by proxy, a mental disorder in which a parent may intentionally sicken a child in a bid for attention or sympathy. The Globe series focused on Justina Pelletier, a 15-year-old Connecticut girl who has been in state custody at Children’s Hospital for 10 months, much of that time in a locked psychiatric ward, after doctors accused her parents of endangering her by seeking treatment for a rare metabolic disorder. Children’s believes she needs psychiatric help instead. The hospital alerted the state’s child protection agency after Justina’s parents threatened to discharge her. READ MORE HERE

————————————————————————————————-

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

Medical Child Abuse – Department of Pediatrics

Dana Ullman: The Epidemic Of ‘Medical Child Abuse‘

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (medical child abuse)