Mother accused of inducing illness

"Drayak's world was `turned inside out` when she was suspected of causing her daughter's illness. Two-year-old Beatrix had a complex medical history and had been placed on anti-epilepsy medicine but she was struggling to feed and kept vomiting. Her mother claims to have been treated `like a monster`over concerns she was `inducing` Beatrix's illness."

"Her daughter was taken into foster care and the family was not reunited until a year later when the case was dropped. Taliah, 36, was wrongly suspected of Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) in relation to her daughter, a condition also known as Munchausen's syndrome by proxy. FII is a rare form of child abuse which occurs when a parent or carer, usually the child's biological mother, exaggerates or deliberately causes symptoms of illness in the child..."

"During the investigation, Taliah, who is a mother of seven, was allowed to continue caring for her other children but Beatrix was removed from the family home. The toddler spent three months in foster care before an arrangement was made for Beatrix to be cared for by her father Taurean at a separate address, with Taliah getting limited supervised access..."

"It was consultant paediatrician Dr Marianne Cochrane, at the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, whose concerns led to a child protection investigation and Taliah being interviewed by the police. Her other children, her friends and playgroup workers were also interviewed as part of the investigation. `None of that seemed to resolve anything,` Taliah says."

"She says the more she asked for help the more she was treated with suspicion."

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48770748#