Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome

There is a really sick psychological disorder called Munchausen by proxy syndrome in which a person, usually a woman, causes sickness in secret to a person she supposedly loves, usually her own child. (98% of these offenders are women).

A mother will secretly poison her child in order to receive attention and to feel the satisfaction of being the center of the universe, having others pity them is their drug. They also thrive off the power they feel in being in control and deceiving doctors, family members and their spouses.

Their purpose is to keep the child sick, but at times they end up killing the child if their secret is not revealed in time.

Their downfall typically comes from suddenly being separated from the child for a long period of time and that child recovering or improving during that time and then almost instantly relapsing when the mother is back at their side.

These mothers will lie and invent new symptoms to throw doctors off, they will cry and seem overly concerned for their child, sometimes falling into hysterics. These mothers will go to extreme lengths to keep their child sick, including and not limited to injecting urine and feces into their blood stream to cause infection, dropping blood into their urine samples, poisoning with house hold products, or removing their oxygen tube for a few minutes at their hospital beside.

Below is the most recent case coming from Tennessee:

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh police arrested a mother on charges she tried to poison her baby with table salt. Amber Brewington, 21, was arrested at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Wednesday morning.

Police said a hospital staff member saw Brewington tampering with the 4-month-old’s feeding tube late Tuesday night.

The boy was transferred to Children’s Hospital on July 9 from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., to be treated for high levels of sodium. The boy’s father has been at his side since then.

During that time, the boy's father traveled with him and his condition began to improve, police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said.

But the boy's condition declined after his mother visited him on Sunday and again on Tuesday night, leading to Brewington's arrest, Stangrecki said.

Pittsburgh police questioned Brewington early Wednesday morning. They said they found a canister of salt, a syringe and a bottle of the children's drink product Pedialyte in her backpack. Police also said Brewington confessed to doctors.

"We believe last night (Tuesday) was another attempt to deliver more salt water or sodium to her child," Stangrecki said.

She is currently in the Allegheny County Jail. She faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. Police said they will not charge the boy’s father.

It's unclear if Brewington, of Duck River, Tenn., has an attorney yet.

*Story taken from: CNN