Blog Post.

It is a strange and uneasy feeling, knowing that your mother is capable of killing you. After all, it is assumed that mothers are biologically hardwired to protect their children from harm. As a small child, even I knew that.

But my mother was different from other mothers. Let's just say she was a different breed. And it wasn’t until I was well into my twenties that I realised what kind of breed.

Munchausen by proxy syndrome, or what is more recently known in the UK as Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII), is a disorder where a parent, usually the mother, creates symptoms of illness in their children in order to gain attention. Whilst the condition may be described as rare, the truth is that there are no real statistics to rely upon. In fact, the condition is rarely diagnosed in the UK because healthcare officials are often ‘fearful of raising their head above the parapet’ * possibly because preconceived ideas of women being caring and loving can be seen to provide the ideal smokescreen for the most incomprehensible deception.

It is estimated by experts that about 500 new cases of fabricated or forced illness, go undetected in Britain each year. And yet, this is one of, if not the deadliest form of child abuse, with fatality rates estimated to be between six and nine per cent in published reports.

For every victim, past and present, I have written this book wholeheartedly for you. I have written this book to raise my head above the parapet.