The Baldwin County Department of Family and Children Services DFCS filed a petition in the Juvenile Court of Baldwin County to have A. B. adjudicated a deprived child. By entry of an emergency shelter care order, the juvenile court placed the child in the temporary custody of DFCS. After conducting several hearings, the court found A. B. deprived and continued temporary custody in DFCS. The court based the deprivation finding on a determination that the mother was suffering from a condition known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy that had caused her to abuse A. B. by repeatedly subjecting her to unnecessary medical treatment. The parents appeal. Under Georgia law, a deprived child is one who “is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or morals.”1 “Deprivation is established by proof of parental unfitness arising from ‘either intentional or unintentional misconduct resulting in the abuse or neglect of the child or by what is tantamount to physical or mental incapability to care for the child.’ Cit.”2 On appeal from a finding that a child is deprived, “we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s judgment to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the child was deprived. . . . This Court neither weighs evidence nor determines the credibility of witnesses; rather, we defer to the trial court’s fact-finding and affirm unless the appellate standard is not met.” Cit.3 Because the appellate standard has not been met here, we reverse.
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy MSBP is a term first used in the 1970′s to describe a condition in which parents actually induce illnesses in their children, or fabricate symptoms, in order to subject the children to unnecessary and often invasive medical tests and procedures.4 It is a form of child abuse by the parent through doctors or health care workers, i.e., by proxy. The MSBP perpetrator profile usually involves a mother who has been emotionally deprived and physically abused as a child. She often feels insecure, lonely, and depressed, and may have a history of attempted suicide and marital problems. She often appears medically knowledgeable or fascinated with medical details, seems to enjoy a hospital environment, and tends to be inappropriately cheerful, helpful, and involved in the care of her child. She may also be overly attentive to the child, while unusually calm during major crises. If the doctor refuses to perform additional tests or procedures, an MSBP perpetrator usually requests second opinions. The MSBP victim profile describes a child who has medical problems that do not respond to treatment or that follow a course that is persistent, puzzling, and unexplained. Discrepancies occur between physical or laboratory findings and the history of the child as provided by the parent. A cessation of symptoms of the child’s illness in the parent’s absence has been described as a “hallmark” of this syndrome. The most common symptoms reported include seizures, failure to thrive, vomiting, diarrhea, asthma, allergies, and infections.
