Münchausen syndrome by proxy

Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) is the formal name of a type of abuse in which a caregiver feigns or induces an illness in a person under their care, in order to attract attention, sympathy, or to fill other emotional needs. It is also known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP), due to its similarity to Munchausen syndrome, in which a person feigns or induces illness in themselves for similar emotional reasons.

In FII a caregiver, usually the mother, feigns or induces an illness in another person, usually her or his child, to gain attention and sympathy as the "worried" parent. Although cases with feigned or induced physical illness receive the most attention, it is also possible in parents who emotionally abuse their child, then claim psychiatric and/or genetic problems.

Initial Description
'''This article is almost entirely untrue. For instance, Dr. Meadow was fully acquitted of any allegations that he has behaved improperly and so the article libels him. Virtually everything else has been written by the group "Mothers Against Munchausen Allegations," which is a small group dedicated to making it illegal to make the diagnosis of Fabricated and Induced Illness (aka Munchausen by proxy). The group includes proven abusers. Expert colleagues are working busily on a balanced, objective, research-support Wikipedia entry, but before we can complete it, please be warned.'''

In 1977, now-discredited pediatrician Roy Meadow, then professor of Paediatrics at the University of Leeds, England, described the extraordinary behaviour of two mothers: One had (Meadow claimed) poisoned her toddler with excessive quantities of salt. The other had introduced her own blood into her baby's urine sample. Although it was initially regarded with skepticism, MSbP soon gained a following amongst medics and social workers. He referred to this behaviour as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Its formal name since March 2002 is now Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) according to the Royal College Of Paediatrics and Child Health. In 2003 however, Earl Howe, the Opposition spokesman on health, accused the professor of inventing a "theory without science" and refusing to produce any real evidence to prove that Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy actually exists.

Controversy
During the 1990s and early 2000s, Meadow was an expert witness in several murder cases involving FII, some of which resulted in parents being convicted of murdering their children and imprisoned. In addition, several children were taken into care. In 2003, a number of high-profile acquittals brought Meadow's ideas into serious disrepute. Around 250 cases resulting in conviction in which Meadow was an expert witness were reviewed, with few changes. Meadow was investigated by the British General Medical Council over evidence he gave as an expert witness for the prosecution in the Sally Clark trial where he asserted that the odds of there being two unexplained infant deaths in one family were one in 73 million, a figure considered crucial in sending her to jail but a claim hotly disputed by the Royal Statistical Society who wrote to the Lord Chancellor to complain. It was subsequently shown that the true odds were in the region of one in 200. The GMC in July 2005 came to a verdict of guilty of "serious professional misconduct" and he was struck off the register for giving "misleading" evidence in the Sally Clark case. At appeal High Court judge Mr Justice Collins described this as "irrational" and set it aside. Meadow was involved as a prosecution witness in 2 other high profile cases resulting in mothers being imprisoned and subsequently cleared of wrongdoing - those of Trupti Patel and Angela Canning. Collins' judgement raises important points concerning the liability of expert witnesses - his view is that referral to the GMC by the losing side is an unacceptable threat and that only the Court should decide whether its witnesses are seriously deficient and refer them to their professional bodies. The case of Dr Jayne Donegan may also be relevant to this.

There are now more than 2,000 reports of FII in the professional and lay literature, with 10 books devoted to the subject. These reports reaffirm that MSbP is not simply a Western phenomenon; reports have come from developing countries throughout the world.

In 2003, Sickened, an autobiographical account of the Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy abuse Julie Gregory suffered as a child, was published.

In 2003, the documentary film MAMA/M.A.M.A. was released, which questioned the validity of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, arguing that in many cases doctors' overmedication of infants may be the real cause of their infirmity rather than the mother's mental illness. The film contains an interview with Sir Roy Meadow.

It has been established in legal precedents in Australia and the U.k. that Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy does not exist as a medico-legal entity. The relevant extracts from these judicial findings are : In June 2004 in an Appeal Hearing, the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia have made the following findings in regard to MSBP/FII. [R v LM [2004] QCA 192.].

“As the term factitious disorder (Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy) is merely descriptive of a behaviour, not a psychiatrically identifiable illness or condition, it does not relate to an organised or recognised reliable body of knowledge or experience. “

The Queensland Supreme Court further ruled that the determination of whether or not a defendant had caused intentional harm to a child was a matter for the jury to decide and not for the determination by expert witnesses, i.e.

“the diagnosis of Drs. Pincus, Withers, and O’Loughlin that the appellant intentionally caused her children to receive unnecessary treatment through her own acts and the false reporting of symptoms of factitious disorder (Munchausen Syndrome) by proxy is not a diagnosis of a recognised medical condition, disorder, or syndrome. It is simply placing her within the medical term used for the category of people exhibiting such behaviour. In that sense, their opinions were not expert evidence because they related to matters able to be decided on the evidence by ordinary jurors. The essential issue as to whether the appellant reported or fabricated false symptoms or did acts to intentionally cause unnecessary medical procedures to injure her children was a matter for the jury’s determination. The evidence of Drs. Pincus, Withers, and O’Loughlin that the appellant was exhibiting the behaviour of factitious disorder (Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy) should have been excluded.”

Principles of law and implications for legal processes which may be deduced from these findings are that :-

1.	Any matters brought before a Court of Law should be determined by the facts, not by suppositions attached to a label describing a behaviour. i.e. MSBP/FII/FDBP;

2.	MSBP/FII/FDBP is not a mental disorder (i.e. not defined as such in DSM IV) and the evidence of a psychiatrist should not therefore be admissible;

3.	MSBPFII/FDBP has been stated to be a behaviour describing a form of child abuse, and not a medical diagnosis of either a parent or a child. A medical practitioner cannot therefore state that a person `suffers’ from MSBPFII/FDBP and such evidence should also therefore be inadmissible. The evidence of a medical practitioner should be confined to what they observed and heard, and what forensic information was found by recognised medical investigative procedures;

4.	A label used to describe a behaviour is not helpful in determining guilt and is prejudicial. By applying an ambiguous label of MSBP/FII to a woman is implying guilt without factual supportive and corroborative evidence;

5.	The assertion that other people may behave in this way i.e. fabricate and/or induce illness in children to gain attention for themselves (FII/MSBP/FDBY) contained within the label, is not factual evidence that this individual has behaved in this way. Again therefore, the application of the label is prejudicial to fairness and a finding based on fact.

The Queensland Judgement was adopted into English law in the High Courts of Justice in Case No. WR03C00142 [A County Council v A Mother and A Father and X,Y,Z children] on 18 January 2005 by Mr. Justice Ryder. In his final conclusions regarding Factitious Disorder, Mr. Justice Ryder states that :- “I have considered and respectfully adopt the dicta of the Supreme Court of Queensland in R v. LM [2004] QCA 192 at paragraph 62 and 66. I take full account of the criminal law and foreign jurisdictional contexts of that decision but I am persuaded by the following argument upon its face that it is valid to the English law of evidence as applied to children proceedings. The terms ‘Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy’ and ‘Factitious (and Induced) Illness (by Proxy)’ are child protection labels that are merely descriptions of a range of behaviours, not a paediatric, psychiatric or psychological disease that is identifiable. The terms do not relate to an organised or universally recognised body of knowledge or experience that has identified a medical disease (i.e. an illness or condition) and there are no internationally accepted medical criteria for the use of either label. In reality, the use of the label is intended to connote that in the individual case there are materials susceptible of analysis by paediatricians and of findings of fact by a court concerning fabrication, exaggeration, minimisation or omission in the reporting of symptoms and evidence of harm by act, omission or suggestion (induction). Where such facts exist the context and assessments can provide an insight into the degree of risk that a child may face and the court is likely to be assisted as to that aspect by psychiatric and/or psychological expert evidence. All of the above ought to be self evident and has in any event been the established teaching of leading paediatricians, psychiatrists and psychologists for some while. That is not to minimise the nature and extent of professional debate about this issue which remains significant, nor to minimise the extreme nature of the risk that is identified in a small number of cases. In these circumstances, evidence as to the existence of MSBP or FII in any individual case is as likely to be evidence of mere propensity which would be inadmissible at the fact finding stage (see Re CB and JB supra). For my part, I would consign the label MSBP to the history books and however useful FII may apparently be to the child protection practitioner I would caution against its use other than as a factual description of a series of incidents or behaviours that should then be accurately set out (and even then only in the hands of the paediatrician or psychiatrist/psychologist). I cannot emphasise too strongly that my conclusion cannot be used as a reason to re-open the many cases where facts have been found against a carer and the label MSBP or FII has been attached to that carer’s behaviour. What I seek to caution against is the use of the label as a substitute for factual analysis and risk assessment."

Indications
Caution is required. Many of the items below are also indications of a child with organic, but undiagnosed illness. An ethical diagnosis of MSbP must include an evaluation of the child, an evaluation of the parents and of the family dynamics. Diagnoses based only on a review of the child's medical chart are now frequently being rejected in court.


 * A child who has one or more medical problems that do not respond to treatment or that follow an unusual course that is persistent, puzzling and unexplained.
 * Physical or laboratory findings that are highly unusual, discrepant with history, or physically or clinically impossible.
 * A parent who appears to be medically knowledgeable and/or fascinated with medical details and hospital gossip, appears to enjoy the hospital environment, and expresses interest in the details of other patients’ problems.
 * A highly attentive parent who is reluctant to leave their child’s side and who themselves seem to require constant attention.
 * A parent who appears to be unusually calm in the face of serious difficulties in their child’s medical course while being highly supportive and encouraging of the physician, or one who is angry, devalues staff, and demands further intervention, more procedures, second opinions, and transfers to other, more sophisticated, facilities.
 * The suspected parent may work in the health care field themselves or profess interest in a health-related job.
 * The signs and symptoms of a child’s illness do not occur in the parent’s absence (hospitalization and careful monitoring may be necessary to establish this causal relationship).
 * A family history of similar or unexplained illness or death in a sibling.
 * A parent with symptoms similar to their child’s own medical problems or an illness history that itself is puzzling and unusual.
 * A suspected emotionally distant relationship between parents; the spouse often fails to visit the patient and has little contact with physicians even when the child is hospitalized with serious illness.
 * A parent who reports dramatic, negative events, such as house fires, burglaries, or car accidents, that affect them and their family while their child is undergoing treatment.
 * A parent who seems to have an insatiable need for adulation or who makes self-serving efforts at public acknowledgement of their abilities.

Prevalence by gender
It has been noted that MS applies mostly to men whereas FII perpetrators are disproportionately females. One study showed that in over 90% of cases of Munchausen by proxy, it is the mother who is the abuser (Vennemann et al., 2005). In other cases, the MSbP abuser is another female caregiver. Fathers have been the perpetrators in a handful of professional reports. The female preponderance may be attributed to the typical socialization pattern which encourages females to seek the sympathy and assistance of others while males who do so are considered to be "weak". It is not known whether this predilection to seek sympathy also has a gender-based genetic component. Neuropsychological testing of perpetrators has shown either normal results or nonspecific abnormalities.

MSbP may also be attributed to another prevalent socialization pattern, that which places females in the primary caretaking role.

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: Pet (MSbP:P)
The medical literature includes a number of descriptions of a subset of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP) caretakers, whose cases are labeled Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: Pet (MSbP:P), factitious disorder with pet proxies, malingering with animal proxies, or even dubbed instances of "battered pet" (in reference to "battered woman" syndrome). In these cases, pet owners correspond to caretakers in traditional MSbP presentations involving human proxies. No extensive survey has yet been made of the extant literature, so there can be no basis for speculations about just how closely MSbP:P tracks with MSbP (human).

Fabricated or Induced Illness / Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP) in popular culture

 * In the 1976 movie Sybil, Sybil's mother may have exhibited MSbP, abusing her daughter frequently. This, however, could also be a case of PTSD, or may also have been from suffering schizophrenia.
 * In 1992, the American Dialect Society voted Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy one of its words of the year, in the "Most Amazing" category.
 * The 1999 movie The Sixth Sense had the posthumous solving of a case of MSbP as one of its later subplots.
 * Also, Takashi Miike's 2003 One Missed Call, an arguably deconstructionist take on the recent wave of Japanese horror movies, has a MSbP case at the heart of its revenging ghost tale.
 * In the Eminem song "Cleanin' Out My Closet", the rapper names himself as a "victim of Munchausen syndrome," accusing his mother of using him for drug-seeking purposes when he was young.
 * In an episode of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a woman poisons her granddaughter with mercury to induce symptoms similar to those associated with leukemia and claims she has been experiencing MSbP.
 * In one of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Pendergast novels, Dance of Death, a character is accused of exhibiting an unusual form of MSbP: committing murders in order to garner attention solving them.
 * An episode of ITV's The Brief first aired on October 21 2005, featured a defendant (a nurse) played by Jennifer Ellison who exhibited the classic symptoms of MSbP.
 * An episode of The X-Files (The Calusari, 2X21) featured Agent Dana Scully suspecting MSbP in unexplained events surrounding a young child and his family.
 * An episode of NBC's Conviction (S01E03), first aired on Friday March 17, 2006, featured a young girl who committed suicide arguably in part because of her mother abused her in a manner typical of MSbP (this is only an inference, as the word "Munchausen" is not used).
 * An episode of NBC's ER (S06E12) first aired on Thursday February 3, 2000, included a subplot in which a mother insists that her son undergo numerous tests and exploratory surgeries, against the advice of the E.R. doctors. The word "Munchausen" is not used, and MSbP can only be inferred.
 * In Every Time I Die's song "Romeo A Go-go," "Munchhausen by proxy of a muse" comes up in the opening song of their third album "Hot Damn!", a song about a night in the intensive care unit.
 * In the episode of JAG "Silent Service", Harm and Mac investigate a series of health problems that occurred in a nuclear submarine which led to the accidental destruction of a ship. It turns out that they were all caused by a corpsman exhibiting MSbP.
 * In the Drawn Together episode "Unrestrainable Trainable", Princess Clara develops MSbP when she receives accolades for nursing Wooldoor Sockbat back to health. She begins deliberately keeping him sick with drain cleaner and a variety of other methods. The bottle of drain cleaner she uses is shown with a warning label, "Caution: Not to be used for Munchausen's by proxy".
 * In the 2006 movie The Night Listener Robin Williams stars as a late-night radio presenter who befriends a fourteen year old boy that listens to his show and who has written a book about the heinous abuse he suffered as a child. Purportedly based on a true story, the boy's identity is called into question and MSbP is mentioned is reference to the boy's guardian who is shown in the final scene to spin a new web of lies about the child.
 * The 2006 Christmas special of Casualty deals with a mother with MSbP who is making her daughter ill. The mother encounters paramedic Josh Griffiths when trying to discharge her daughter from the hospital, and stabs him with a bread knife, thinking that he is trying to take her daughter away from her, when he was actually taking her back to the hospital to check her over.
 * MSbP is very clearly portrayed in Patricia Cornwell's crime novel The Body Farm. The syndrome is the key to the mystery in this horrifying story of a young girl brutally murdered by the mother who eludes the police by mimicking a serial killer's signature style.
 * The Japanese horror movie One Missed Call contains numerous cases of MSbP.