Introduction Munchausen syndrome by proxy was given the name by Dr. Roy Meadow in 1977. He figured out the name when he had two cases that had similar symptoms to those of Munchausen syndrome but were projected onto children by mothers who fabricated the symptoms. In the cases that he had one mother put her own blood into the child’s urine and the other case was of a mother who poisoned her toddler with excessive amount of salt. Many terms have been used to describe this diagnosis like Munchausen by proxy, illness induction syndrome and factitious disorder by proxy. MSbP is a combination of medical neglect, physical abuse and psychological mistreatment that involves a doctor. The perpetrator will go as far as inducing an illness, withhold
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Roy Meadow who was a pediatrician and had many babies die and were categorized under the label of dying under SIDS but then he realized that the babies were actually dead due to murder. Munchausen Syndrome is when an adult consciously inflicts pain and illness upon them and making up symptoms to seek medical attention. In MSbP is when the own parent or caretaker create or put together medical symptoms in a child due to the psychopathology the parent or caretaker has. This syndrome is not hypochondriasis in where the child thinks they will become ill or are truly ill, it is a factious disorder with real physical symptoms. The symptoms that the child feels are a production of intentional psychical symptoms but not psychological symptoms. Munchausen syndrome by proxy has a very low rate of report in the form of child abuse because it is so hard to detect. Once MSbP is identified the abuse the child goes through goes beyond the physical trauma the child experiences and greatly involves emotional troubles for the child as they grow up. In all the cases reported it is usually the mother or in rare cases someone who has regular close contact with the child who is the perpetrator. The perpetrator subjects the child to unnecessary, dangerous and risky medical procedures. Men can also become the abuser but there are very few reports of fathers doing the act. (Griffith,
Roy Meadow who was a pediatrician and had many babies die and were categorized under the label of dying under SIDS but then he realized that the babies were actually dead due to murder. Munchausen Syndrome is when an adult consciously inflicts pain and illness upon them and making up symptoms to seek medical attention. In MSbP is when the own parent or caretaker create or put together medical symptoms in a child due to the psychopathology the parent or caretaker has. This syndrome is not hypochondriasis in where the child thinks they will become ill or are truly ill, it is a factious disorder with real physical symptoms. The symptoms that the child feels are a production of intentional psychical symptoms but not psychological symptoms. Munchausen syndrome by proxy has a very low rate of report in the form of child abuse because it is so hard to detect. Once MSbP is identified the abuse the child goes through goes beyond the physical trauma the child experiences and greatly involves emotional troubles for the child as they grow up. In all the cases reported it is usually the mother or in rare cases someone who has regular close contact with the child who is the perpetrator. The perpetrator subjects the child to unnecessary, dangerous and risky medical procedures. Men can also become the abuser but there are very few reports of fathers doing the act. (Griffith,