Criminal Investigation<\/p>\n
Name of Student <\/p>\n
Name of Institution<\/p>\n
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy<\/p>\n
According to Medical Plus, Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP) is both a mental illness and a calculated form of child abuse. It occurs when the person entrusted with the care of a child, usually the mother or the babysitter, either comes up with fake or real symptoms to misrepresent a child\u2019s sickness. It is not really clear what causes (MSbP). Sometimes the victim suffered an abuse at childhood or has faked the illness for himself or herself (Medical Plus, 2014). Caregivers can go to any extent to induce (MSbP) in a child as follows:<\/p>\n
Add blood to the urine or stool of the child<\/p>\n
Withhold or reduce a child\u2019s feeding so that the child loses weight<\/p>\n
Fabricate lab results<\/p>\n
Heat up thermometers to misrepresent a child\u2019s fever<\/p>\n
Administer drugs to the child so that the child diarrheas or vomits<\/p>\n
Notable signs of guilty caretakers have been documented. The caretakers often appear so devoted to the child\u2019s health that it is hard to suspect they are behind the ordeal. Moreover, most of these caretakers know much about medical care and work in hospitals mostly. Therefore, they can describe the medical problem satisfactorily (Medical Plus, 2014). Children suffering from MSbP often make multiple rounds to the hospital. They have been tested and operated on many times. Moreover, the diagnosed symptoms cannot be attributed to any disease. The mother often reports the symptoms. In addition, blood samples rarely match the child\u2019s blood group. Many a times chemicals and drugs appear in the child\u2019s urine, stool or blood samples (Medical Plus, 2014).<\/p>\n
Early this year, Lacey Spears, a middle-aged woman was charged with first-degree manslaughter and second-degree murder in New York. The woman allegedly fed her son copious amounts of salt following her extensive online research that revealed the potential effects of excessive consumption of salt. She became motivated by the fame and attention she received on social media. The defendant denied the charges. The case is still underway (Bever, 2014).<\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
Bever, L. (2014). Woman accused of fatally poisoning son in Munchausen case. Retrieved 24 <\/p>\n
October 2014 from HYPERLINK “http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2014\/06\/18\/woman-pleads-not-guilty-to-poisoning-her-5-year-old-son-to-death\/” http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2014\/06\/18\/woman-pleads-not-guilty-to-poisoning-her-5-year-old-son-to-death\/<\/p>\n
Medical Plus (2014). Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Retrieved 24 October 2014 from <\/p>\n
HYPERLINK “http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/ency\/article\/001555.htm” http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/ency\/article\/001555.htm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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