Mother Allegedly Attempts To Poison Baby With Tylenol
Woman Ordered To Undergo Psychiatric Evaluation
POSTED: Thursday, November 11, 2004
UPDATED: 9:20 pm EST November 11,2004
A mother of a 1-year-old girl is being held at Macomb County Jail after she allegedly attempted to poison the child.
The Fraser woman (pictured, left) was charged with first-degree child abuse after her live-in boyfriend allegedly caught her in the act of pouring a 4-ounce bottle of children's liquid Tylenol down the girl's throat.
"He believed she was trying to pour it down her throat, the whole bottle. He stopped her. He put the baby down. The baby was crying like she was sick," said Lt. Dan Kolke, of the Fraser Police Department.
Local 4 learned the recommended dosage of Tylenol for younger children is one teaspoon. The package warns that an overdose can cause serious health problems.
Authorities are now working to determine if the woman was intentionally trying to harm the girl.
Local 4 spoke with Dr. Patricia Siegel, of Children's Hospital, an expert on Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy (MSP). MSP is a parenting disorder where parents, usually the mother, fabricate symptoms in their children, thus subjecting them to unnecessary medical tests and/or surgical procedures, according to the
SIDS Network Web site.
"We see it quite frequently," said Siegel. "They use illness in their child to demonstrate love."
If the Fraser woman is able to post bond, the court has ordered her to stay away from the child. She is also scheduled to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The 1-year-old was checked out by doctors, but was expected to be OK. She's been placed in foster care, Local 4 reported.
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