The perversion of mothering: Munchausen syndrome by proxy

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H A Schreier1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Northern California, Oakland 94609.

Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic
|January 1, 1992
PubMed

Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a seemingly caring and concerned mother is simultaneously harming her child, can best be understood in terms of the mother's need for a relationship with a physician that is rooted in a profound sense of early abandonment. This understanding broadens the definition of perversions. The infant in this sadomasochistic interaction is dehumanized and is used as a fetishistic object to control the relationship. The author's literature review and case report provide the basis for his exploration of the historical, cultural, and psychological factors that both contribute to the development of the syndrome and conspire to deny its reality.

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