Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: The Cruelest Breach of Trust

A Look at the Devastating Affects of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

Baron von Münchhausen was a notorious 18th century German baron, who came to attention due to his proclivity for causing himself harm in order to garner the sympathy and attention of others. His infamy outlived him, and his peculiar psychological disturbance earned him a place in history, when his disorder became known through out the world as Munchausen Syndrome. Sadly, an offshoot of the disorder, known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, has since come to be recognized as a more sinister form of the condition.

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a rare psychiatric disorder in which parents fabricate illnesses in their children, sometimes even going so far as to cause them physical harm and even death. As with Munchausen Syndrome, it is believed that, in most cases, perpetrators of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy are addicted to attention, particularly the sympathetic attention that the parent of a chronically ill child can garner.

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is far more common in mothers than in fathers. It is an extremely serious form of child abuse, which can have devastating affects on the health of the child or children of the afflicted parent. In some cases, the parent with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy may make up symptoms in their child in order to continue taking the child in for medical attention. In more serious cases, the parent may actually cause the child harm in order to create actually conditions and illnesses that must then be treated. Even in cases where the parent reported fabricated symptoms, but did not actually harm the child, the damage can be irreversible when a perfectly healthy child becomes legitimately fragile, medically, due to invasive procedures performed to address medical problems that never existed in the first place.