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ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 308 • Posted: Saturday August 10, 2002  

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Munchausen by proxy:
Persecuted parents or protected children?
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Wednesday, August 7, 2002
SPECIAL REPORT
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/munchausen/

Parents who claim they were wrongly branded child abusers have exhausted their life savings fighting to get their kids back and clear the names. Now they want a Seattle pediatrician to be held accountable.

In each case, Dr. Kenneth Feldman concluded that the mother suffered from a rare mental disorder called Munchausen syndrome by proxy. And he remains convinced that children in those families are still at risk.

Learn more in this special report:

Allegations cost their reputations, their money and nearly their kids
At least six families claim they were victimized by a pediatrician’s misdiagnosis that ripped apart their lives and left them branded as suspected child abusers. The doctor, Kenneth Feldman, has been involved in more than 100 Munchausen cases during the last 25 years — far more than any other doctor in the state.

Suspicions cost one family a son they wanted to adopt
Seven years ago, Bob and Kristi Yuille were thrilled to add mellow, brown-haired baby Wyatt to their family. A few months later, their lives were irrevocably changed by allegations of Munchausen by proxy made by a Seattle pediatrician. The allegations cost them one child, and years later put another adoption at risk.

Disorder covers a broad spectrum of behaviors
Experts disagree whether Munchausen by proxy is a psychiatric illness or a form of child abuse. They agree, however, that the actions commonly attributed to the syndrome can harm children psychologically and physically.

Where the odysseys took some parents
Read the stories of five families that faced accusations of Munchausen by proxy.

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