Abstract Munchausen Syndrome by proxy is a mental disorder characterized by an individual, usually a mother or caretaker, who creates fictitious symptoms or causes real symptoms either physical or psychological in nature to make it appear as if a child is suffering from an illness. Over the years, there has been much controversy surrounding the definition and diagnosis of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy. Other controversy is directed towards whether it should be described as a disorder, illness or listed as a form of child abuse. This paper will discuss and outline the history of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy and define how it is often used by the many interdisciplinary fields it is often discussed. In addition, a contextual example of Munchausen …show more content…
Sir Meadow, a British pediatrician and professor, became publicly known after publishing academic literature titled “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy – the hinterland of child abuse.” This article generated extensive attention towards this new phenomenon. The phenomenon, Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, consisted of a mother’s ability to deceive medical personnel by creating a fictitious illness often resulting in unwarranted surgical procedures carried out on the child primarily to meet self gratification (Parnell & Day, 1998). The publication of this literature increased the understanding of MSBP, and created great controversy surrounding the topic including its relative impact on the medical and legal aspects of society. Although Sir Meadow generated publicity on this topic, the term Munchausen syndrome originated in 1951 by Dr. Richard Asher when he identified common factors between many of his patients and the exaggerated storytelling of Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymous von Munchhausen in the 18th century, who was described to have had “a reputation for colorful raconteur who spun outrageous stories and wandered about the countryside to find audiences” (Gray & Zide,
“Cullen and Flein Concede that in rare cases, it is permissible for doctors to deceive a patient but only if the deception is for a short while and if the potential gain from the deception is probable and significant. (Cullen Klein
There is then a change in the theme of the documentary. It transitions into a documentary about the negative effects of medical drugs. Gary Null and other “experts” focus on malpractice by doctors. They provide examples such as Alan Yuko’s. The bias in the tone of the parents of baby Yurko, who died of shaken baby syndrome, and the experts involved in the trial is clear. They claim the medical system forces kids to have vaccines. The documentary then focuses on the effects of other diseases. It offers an alternative to drugs– nutrients. The people interviewed ignore the effects of disease, and blame the deaths on only the
Artingstall, Kathryn.. Practical Aspects of Munchausen by Proxy and Munchausen Syndrome Investigation.. FL: CRC Press, 1999. Print. (tags: none | edit tags)
Charles has agreed to medication protocol of Haldol injections and Resperadol. He adamantly refuses psychotherapy. While hospitalized Charles makes reference to being sexually abused he refuses to go into depth or give specifics. Prior to the diagnosis Charles’s mother reports became withdrawn at the age of seven Charles’s father died in a car accident.
While reading the semi-autobiographical, Bastard Out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison, I was stunned by the explicit nature of the novel. We were introduced to a young narrator and protagonist named, Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright. Bone's family, like that of the author, experienced a impoverished life, all the while she tried to find her place in a society that had literally labeled her “illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster defines illegitimate as being: (1) not recognized as lawful offspring; specifically: born of parents not married to each other (2) not rightly deduced or inferred- illogical (3) departing for the regular- erratic (4) not sanctioned by law- illegal (5) not authorized by good usage. As a young girl, how would it feel being known as illogical, erratic, illegal, not for good usage, and, in Bone's case, being constantly reminded of not knowing the identity of your birth father? According to helpguide.org, a non-profit online resource for mental health, the article “Child Abuse & Neglect” addressed how constantly being told you are stupid or no good, as a child, is very difficult to overcome. You may accept these negative thoughts and believe them to be reality. In this research paper, I am looking to unveil the truth of child abuse by focusing on the history, myths, and victim rehabilitation of child abuse.
Harold Shipman was a British middle-aged family doctor turned a serial killer, and he is believed to have killed at least 236 patients over a twenty-four year period (Saferstein, 2015). The glaring question is how does a medical doctor betray the needs of patients, and more importantly, how does he elude suspicion for nearly two and half decades. Let us examine the key facts and circumstances surrounding Dr. Harold Shipman, also dubbed Dr. Death, and determine why he was to kill undetected for so many years beginning with Dr. Shipman’s teenage years.
A young woman claims that the death of her newborn was not an act of infanticide. Her lawyer makes a solid argument towards her being mentally unfit. Although the women did not have a clinical diagnosis, she clearly suffered from environmental factors that put her in this situation. From the other side of his case the author gives us underlying evidence that she does suffer, mostly form denial.
As previously presented, a psychiatric report states that Mary Maloney is not suffering, or has not suffered in the past, any form of mental disorder or illness. Mrs. Maloney did not have schizophrenia, and she was not bipolar, she was not insane. Given the fact that she was not insane still does not mean that it was impossible for her to have “snapped” and done something irrational at that moment. Yet the likely hood of this even occurring is very slim, in fact the chance of it happening is a 0.1 out of 100 chance. It is known that some mental illnesses are hereditary and may have not showed up on current files therefore; we also brought in psychiatric reports from Mary Maloney’s parents and 3 grandparents. All these reports are clean from any mental disorders. Mary Maloney not having a mental disorder was not the only significant evidence in this report. T...
Peter Conrad’s book, The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders, examined several cases of human conditions, once viewed as normal, now considered as medical issues. Conrad defined this transition of human problems to disorders that are medically defined, studied, diagnosed and treated as “medicalization”. Specifically, Conrad discussed certain conditions, such as adult ADHD, as age related phenomena that have been medicalized. Throughout, Conrad demonstrated how these issues became medically defined because of the current research and financing structure of medicine in the United States. Those newly defined illnesses changed people’s perceptions and expectations of health and old age, thus dramatically altering society’s expectations of medicine and subsequent life quality. Conrad’s ethnography is a good example of the ethnomedical approach to medical anthropology that addressed several health conditions that are prominent in the United States. He culminated his book by arguing medicalization primarily serves as a form of social control, solving problems with individuals and not society. While the book clearly explained a wide range of negative causes and effects of medicalization, Conrad only acknowledged a few examples of successful resistance briefly in his last chapter. In order to empower its readers beyond education, the book should have examined these instances of anti-medicalization to find similarities and derive productive countermeasures for individuals to follow. Conrad thoroughly outlined the history, examples and influencing factors that promote medicalization, but failed to offer any combative solution to the resulting problems of medicalization.
In “Rappaccini’s Daughter” the “failure of the institution” relaates to the medical establishment, which is traditionally sworn to uphold the health of people, but in this story Dr. Rappaccini, out of scientific zeal, has been skewed away from the fundamental purpose of medicine. It is indeed ironic that he poisons his own daughter and her boyfriend, alienating them from society and dooming them.
The case of 17-month old Emilio Gonzales was seen and heard nation wide. A conflict between the mother and the physician emerged after the physician no longer expected there be an improvement in his health. This led to the decision of discontinuing providing care for the child and requesting the parents find another facility willing to provide such medical care. The main issue of this case revolved around whether the physician’s decision was morally permissible or legally just. Under Kantian Ethics, Children’s Hospital has moral reasoning to terminate treatment for Emilio and thus is morally justified in withdrawing treatment.
Story: Andrew Bedner is an American man at the center of bioethical controversy regarding the rights of parents to make medical decisions for children they have allegedly abused
A. Aileen Wuornos was born to a teenage couple. Her father was arrested for child molestation and hung himself in jail. Her mother abandoned her, and the maternal grandparents assumed guardianship. Most of western culture can agree the abuse of a child is a deviant act. In the case of Aileen, what social factors and “social controls” impeded the recognition of such deviant behavior?
Child abuse and neglect are “social” issues that were addressed by the author. While children are in foster care, they may become victims of maltreatment: child neglect, child emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The terms neglect refers to when parents fail to provide a child’s basic needs and provide satisfactory level of care (Downs, Moore and McFadden, 2009). An example of a child being neglected is when parents or c...
Cronin’s warning to the public to not overly trust and depend on medical practitioners to act responsibly and in their best interests, is warranted. Trust is particularly important when the health of the patient is compromised, as they are in their most vulnerable and frightened state. Many individuals determine trust on the basis of the effectiveness of treatment, thus judging the competence of the doctor (Mechanic, 1996). However, as Cronin vindicates, patients are unknowledgeable and thus not always able to detect pseudo-remedies, or unskilled doctors. To the reader’s horror he exemplifies how Manson’s inexperience is a menacing threat to public safety, but even more so he reveals that even the most experienced physician with first class