What is medical child abuse?

Answer 1

medical child abuse can refer to one of two things (I am not sure which one you are referring to) there is medical abuse in where the parent (usually the mother) injects things into their child (or their IV/PIC line if they have one) in order to maintain the attention of parenting a sick child. They may force a child to eat food that has been laced with poisions or arsenic or something else that would mimc a severe illness. This is more commonly known as "Munchausen Syndrome by proxy". Unfortunately parents of children with immune deficiencies may be investigated to ensure that the children are becoming legitimately ill.

Another form of medical child abuse is when the parent denies the child medical treatment in any situation where a "reasonable person" would immediately seek care. IE your child is having a seizure and you do nothing (a reasonable parent would call 911), your child has cancer and you refuse to give them any medications to help them. (This is frequent in communities where medicine is not believed in and instead they use prayer to try and heal the child- unfortunately they can be charged if the child dies and it is found that routine medical treatment would/could have saved them. ) You can also commit medical abuse when your purposefully disregard medical orders. IE the dr says to give them a medication 3x a day for 10 days; you decide to give it to them 1x a day or 4x a day leading to them getting sicker. OR your child gets a medication that you find makes them very sleepy so you give it to them when they don't need it to put them to sleep, OR you load your kid(s) up with drowsy/sedating products before a road trip or some other activity so you can keep them under control.

I am sure there are other examples/definitions but I'm drawing a blank

Answer 2

Medical child abuse, also known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, is a form of child abuse in which a caregiver, typically a parent, exaggerates or fabricates symptoms, illness, or medical conditions in a child for the purpose of gaining attention or sympathy. This can involve subjecting the child to unnecessary medical procedures, medications, or hospitalizations, and can have serious physical and psychological consequences for the child. Medical professionals play a vital role in identifying and reporting cases of medical child abuse.