what is the medical name for a person that causes harm to their child for attention?

Answer 1

when someone does it to themselves its called munchhausens
when someone does it to their child its called munchhausens by proxy

Answer 2

Munchausen by proxy. The previous answer left the last off.

Answer 3

Munchausen Syndrome. Not sure if spelling is correct, but just saw a program about that on TV. Those people are sick.

Answer 4

Munchhausen's

Answer 5

Manchuesen Syndrome, you may need to check the spelling.

Answer 6

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

Fabricated and Induced Illness (Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy)
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 Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP) 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.

FII is a form of child abuse. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Meadow was called as an expert witness in several murder cases where FII was at issue, some of which resulted in parents being convicted of murdering their children and imprisoned. In addition several children were taken into care. During 2003 a number of high-profile acquittals brought Meadow's ideas into serious disrepute. Some people deny even the existence of FII, despite observations on hospital surveillance cameras which have caught abusers in the act. 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 one aspect of one case - the statistical likelihood of sudden infant death syndrome occurring twice in a family. The GMC in July 2005 came to a verdict of guilty of "serious professional misconduct" which (judge) Collins J described at appeal as "irrational" and set aside. The case had almost nothing to do with SIDS, since neither prosecution nor defence suggested that the children involved suffered SIDS, and Collins' judgement raises important points of 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 defficient 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, a documentary film, MAMA/M.A.M.A., which questions 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, was released. The film contains an interview with Sir Roy Meadow. www.munchausenmovie.com is the official site for the film.

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Clues that may indicate Fabricated or Induced Illness
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[citation needed] 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.

Answer 7

munchausen by proxy