The jury has delivered its verdict in the trial of a woman accused of medically abusing her child. Image / NZME composite using RNZ insetA mother accused of ill-treating her child during medical treatment has been found guilty on all seven charges. Medical staff who gave evidence at the trial said the child rapidly recovered after being removed from the mother’s care. Medical child abuse was a recognised diagnosis, described as a form of child abuse where a child received “unnecessary, potentially harmful medical care” at the instigation of a caregiver. On three separate occasions in 2020, the mother allegedly caused illness in the child through wilfully causing a polymicrobial sepsis.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 08, 2026 07:30 UTC