My Mother Caused My Illness

For Release: July 7, 1997
5 p.m. (ET)

Below is a highlight of a study published in the July issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Members of the media may obtain the full text of this study by e-mailing the AAP Division of Public Relations at [email protected] or calling the Division at 847-981-7877 and asking for C1-97. E-mail requests should include your name, media affiliation, phone and fax numbers or address.

MY MOTHER CAUSED MY ILLNESS

CHICAGO--"My earliest memory of child abuse was when I was 2 years old; the year was 1961. My parents reported that I had fallen down a flight of stairs and twisted my right ankle," said the victim. "What the physicians didn't know was the injury to my ankle was no accident; the cause--repeated blows with a hammer by my mother." One child's eight-year ordeal as a victim of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome (MBPS) is chronicled in a study in this month's issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. This syndrome, first described in 1977, is a form of child abuse in which a parent fabricates or produces illness or injury in a child. The study is the first detailed published account of what it was like to grow up in a family where the mother systematically induced serious illness or injury in a child. It is based on a review of the medical records, interviews with the victim, the victim's therapist and discussions with physicians. "The consequences of MBPS are psychological and physical and impact the entire family," according to the authors from St. John Hospital, Detroit, and Childrens Hospital of Michigan at Detroit Medical Center/Wayne State University, Detroit. They conclude: "The details in this case underscore the need to develop sensitive means of identifying and treating children who are victims of MBPS and serve as powerful reminders to directly talk with, and listen to, young patients."

EDITORS NOTE: This study was published in the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, but does not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the Academy. The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 53,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.