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Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a seemingly caring and concerned mother is simultaneously harming her child, can best be understood in terms of the mother's need for a relationship with a physician that is rooted in a profound sense of early abandonment. This understanding broadens the definition of perversions. The infant in this sadomasochistic interaction is dehumanized and is used as a fetishistic object to control the relationship. The author's literature review and case report provide the basis for his exploration of the historical, cultural and psychological factors that both contribute to the development of the syndrome and conspire to deny its reality. (Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 56, 421-437)
The possibility of Munchausen syndrome by proxy behaviour by mothers seems as preposterous to most people today as child sexual abuse seemed 20 years ago (McGuire & Feldman, 1989, p. 292).