Doctors are taking note of an increase in mild and severe cases of Munchausen by proxy syndrome, the condition at the center of Florida’s widely watched “Take Care of Maya” trial, which concluded this week.
Doctors told The Post that the rise in cases of the syndrome, in which caregivers exaggerate a child’s ailment to elicit sympathy, is due to a number of factors, including the lure of social media attention, the onslaught of medical information available online and the erosion of trust in the medical community. establishment.
“It’s still rare, but it’s seen more frequently now,” said a Fort Myers pediatrician. “I am not commenting on Maya Kowalski’s case or how the hospital handled the situation in general. But it is worrying.”
Last month, Tajahnae Brown, a Bronx mother, was arrested and charged with first-degree assault after authorities said she poisoned her four-year-old daughter with “life-threatening levels” of anti-seizure medication.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is the central condition of the widely followed “Take Care of Maya” trial in Florida.Law&Crime Network
Investigators alleged that Brown made 190 visits to various providers to obtain unnecessary medications for her son.
In July, Jessica Gasser, a Texas mother and social media influencer, was arrested and charged with faking her 3-year-old son’s illness and causing medical harm.
Police said the 27-year-old woman gave her daughter 28 unnecessary injections and took her to dozens of doctor appointments in three states to continue the charade.
Beata Kowalski (left) and Maya Kowalski (right) in Netflix’s “Take Care of Maya.” Courtesy of Netflix
The Fort Myers doctor said such cases are the end of a spectrum of strident parental involvement in their children’s care, from overriding doctors by refusing routine procedures to full-blown Munchausen-by-proxy cases where children run a clear risk.
“People now go to WebMD and think they know what’s going on with their child,” he said. “With some people he becomes obsessive. I see that more parents are resisting now than ever. “It’s a real problem.”
A Jacksonville doctor echoed those sentiments, saying she’s encountering more skepticism from parents now than in years past.
Tajahnae Brown was arrested for trying to poison her own son last month.Christopher Sadowski
“Honestly, I think a lot of this is due to the controversy over the COVID vaccine,” he said. “There were many people who rejected it. In many cases this put them at odds with their doctors. I think that generated skepticism about other things beyond COVID. And that is unfortunate. “It has real consequences.”
This doctor drew a parallel between the rise of homeschooling children and what she called “doctoring in the home.”
In some of the most egregious cases of Munchausen by proxy, social media attention (and the potential for ill-gotten gains from fundraisers) are driving forces, doctors said.
Influencer Jessica Gasser was accused of giving her son unnecessary injections. Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office
“Before, there weren’t many avenues for people to get something from manufacturing or invention,” the Fort Myers doctor said. “That has changed now. “I have to believe he is playing a role.”
While the practitioners declined to take a position on the jury verdict in the Maya Kowalski case, both said they hoped it would not have a chilling effect on doctors’ willingness to report questionable parenting.
“Can hospitals mishandle cases?” the Jacksonville doctor said. “Of course. There are many gray areas here. But there are cases where intervention is necessary.”
A Florida jury ruled Thursday that Maya, now 17, was wrongfully imprisoned at Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, and found the facility must pay a sum of $261 million.
Maya’s mother, Beata Kowalski, had pressured doctors to give her aggressive ketamine treatments for what she said was a serious neurological disorder.
The hospital referred the case to Florida child welfare authorities, and a judge later made Maya a ward of the state.
After three months of separation from her daughter, Beata Kowalski committed suicide in January 2017.
Lawyers for the hospital had argued that staff reported the mother out of legitimate concern for Maya’s well-being.
The family’s attorneys responded that the center wrongly dismissed the parents’ claims that Maya suffered from chronic regional pain syndrome and had inappropriately isolated her.
The case was chronicled in a Netflix documentary, “Take Care of Maya,” which debuted on the streaming service on June 19 and was viewed 13.8 million times in the first two weeks after its release.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn