1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Get a Second Opinion, August 25, 2010
This review is from: Mama/M.A.M.A. (DVD)
While the film is technically well produced, it is narrowly focused on a few cases that appear to prove its theme, that Munchausen by Proxy is a diagnosis used by physicians to cover up their own mistakes, misdiagnoses, bad lab results or lethal drug reactions. It causes the skeptic in me to question the producer's purpose in devoting such passion to refuting doctors and prescription medicine and in seemingly siding with parents who may put their own children in grave danger and perhaps cause their deaths.
Certainly video evidence exists of parents harming their children while hospitalized. And no doubt there may be times when doctors could be mistaken on a Munchausen diagnosis, but that conclusion, even in this film, is never made lightly. To crusade in this fashion, pretending that the huge fold out of possible side effects in every drug package is somehow sinister in this case, filming in particular the maudlin small coffin scene, replete with violin music, giving those accused such camera attention, is over the top at best and and at worst, just kind of creepy.
Although parents in this very limited study were legally exonerated, those children who are real victims need our attention and, a second opinion.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Disturbing Film--It Stays with You, February 10, 2005
This review is from: Mama/M.A.M.A. (DVD)
This documentary about doctors' abuse in diagnosing Munchausen syndrome by proxy was as disturbing as it was compelling. I watched the story unfold with an increasing sense of anger and dismay at the power and egotism of doctors in our society--and of society's powerlessness against those in the medical profession who abuse their positions of trust. Nonny de la Pena and Amy Sommer have created an engrossing and educational film about a controversial diagnosis and the ripple effect that can occur when the diagnosis is misapplied to innocent mothers and their unfortunate children. I learned a great deal about some of the dangerous drugs that are prescribed to babies--and I was appalled that these children were subjected to these medications and then wrenched from their mothers who were accused of abusing their children based on barely any evidence except the doctors' complete lack of knowledge and understanding. It made me afraid for my own children and for unempowered women in this country and abroad.
This is an important movie about the abuse of power and the disenfranchisement of a segment of the population--poorer, less educated mothers--that cannot defend itself and should be the first ones protected against such abuses. I recommend this movie for all those interested in putting a face to tyranny and who want to take a stand against it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "must read" for all Medical Moms, medical staff and social workers, March 11, 2008
This review is from: Mama/M.A.M.A. (DVD)
The film contains the stories of three women with truly sick children who were seeking help for their suffering children. These women were each looking for a doctor who could figure out what was wrong with their child. Each mother found herself violently jerked into the world of social workers and family courts. Each quickly realized that a mother who is accused of harming her child has zero rights in court. And any mother who is accused of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is has fewer rights than a serial murderer. The story of how the doctors and social workers railroaded these moms is an important story that should be seen by everybody who works in medicine or with family courts.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
