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Munchausen Moms Documentary
Munchausen Moms is a documentary that was aired in 2007, explaining Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy or Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA) in mothers. The documentary focuses on two mothers, Cynthia Martinez and Tanya Reid, who suffered from this psychological disorder. Munchausen Moms follows the stories of these mothers from the moment they began to show symptoms of this psychological disorder. The documentary also touches base on Julie Gregory, author of Sickened, who was the victim of a mother who suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Munchausen Moms covers the symptoms exhibited by caregivers who are suffering from Munchausen Syndrome and the extent they go to for self-gratification.

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy or Factitious Disease Imposed on Another (FDIA)
          Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a psychological disorder, classified in the DSM-5 as someone acts like they are sick when they are really not. This can mean going to extreme extents to pretend one is sick. This also includes people who pretend someone else is sick, usually children, and go to abusive extents to make their child appear sick. This is done for self-gratification of the person imposing this fake sickness on another. People who suffer from Munchausen Syndrome usually like the attention they get when they are ill, or when their child is ill. It is usually experienced by women, specifically mothers who induce sickness in the children and convince doctors they are ill. These mothers usually have a background in nursing expertise, and they know about a variety of illness and how they should be treated. Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a very intense form of child abuse, when imposed on another. This causes the child to experience trauma later on in life, or even die from their mothers’ actions.

Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy in Today’s World
          Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy has been around since 1951. It is a relatively new psychological disorder because it is very hard to diagnose, due to the complex symptoms one experiences. It became popular in 2015, when the story of Clauddine Blanchard hit the news. She suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, putting her daughter, Gypsy Blanchard, into the worst of situations to gain attention, money, and gratification. After her daughter was grown up, she conspired with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to kill her own mother. Since this story became so popular, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy started to gain more attention and was studied in further detail.

Synopsis of Munchausen Moms Documentary
          Munchausen Moms begins with the story of Cynthia Martinez, wife of a military man. Cynthia would visit a handful of hospitals, worrying about her two sons. In 1994, Cynthia took her 7-month old son, Joseph to the emergency room once, claiming he had a painful abdomen and needed a feeding tube. Before going to the hospital, Joseph already had a breathing tube and a feeding tube from pervious times his mother had taken him for medical help. Doctors treating Joseph noticed he has a bacteria that came from fecal matter. Joseph did not have any issues of this sort, even after multiple tests were run. Investigators worked with doctors and concluded that this could only be a deliberately caused incident. To find out more of the situation, they installed a camera in Joseph’s hospital room. After one week, they found that Cynthia disconnecting Joseph’s feeding tube and breathing into it, to injure his abdomen and make him look like he was suffering from abdominal pain. She also disconnects his ventilator, attempting to suffocate him. After this, Cynthia Martinez was arrested and seen to have Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.. Later, Cynthia also killed another one of her sons with the same type of behavior. Cynthia then re-married and had three more kids, who were all placed in childcare right after their births. In 2000, Cynthia Martinez began trial and plead guilty for four counts of endangering a child. After being separated from all her children, all her children began to thrive.

          Julie Gregory, author of Sickened, shared her experience with a mother who suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Gregory says that her mom convinced her she was very sick. Her mother went so far, that she was checked into the hospital for a heart catheterization that she did not need. She told the nurse about her situation, but the nurse did not believe her. When Julie was 17, she learned about Munchausen by Proxy in a psychology class and knew this is what her mother suffered from. She was able to escape the torture of her mother and educate others on this psychological disorder. Julie’s mother never admitted to her troublesome actions.

          Tanya Reid was a mother from Des Moines, Iowa. She was married and had two children, Kimberly and Matthew. One day, she called 911 because her son Matthew could apparently not breathe. She tried to resuscitate Matthew and paramedics thought this was out of the ordinary, as he started breathing normally way too quickly. Tanya would repeatedly call 911, coming up with an issue for Matthew. Tests were done, and Matthew did not have any medical issues. Tanya never abused her daughter, Kimberly. Kimberly speaks up about her mother and says that her mother never hurt her. Tanya had a child before marrying and her name was Morgan. Investigators found that Morgan had died as a child and concluded that Tanya had killed Morgan. After questioning, hospital staff were also suspicious about Morgan being medically ill. Matthew was seen to be okay after separated from his mother after her arrest. Tanya was tried for the abuse of Matthew and the death of Morgan. She was sentenced to 40 years in prison. She has never admitted her crimes.