STORY: "Prosecution of parents over baby's death raises controversy over diiagnosing child abuse: Don't ignore the preventative message" published in the British Medical Journal on April 30, 2012.
GIST: "We read the Judgement in this case with sadness and interest: It is accepted that Jayden suffered from congenital rickets. Congenital refers to timing; he was born with it. It is very likely his mother was vitamin D deficient during pregnancy; he was born with vitamin D deficiency. He was entirely breastfed by his mother, one of the sad facts of this case is, unbeknown to his mother or those advising her, that further contributed to his vitamin D deficiency. (para 5 1Approved Judgement, Justice Theis DBE) This, despite the fact his mother had attended all antenatal appointments, received regular visits as part of a Family Nurse Partnership Programme (FNP) before and after Jayden’s birth, Jayden himself had been taken to all scheduled appointments, was fully immunised and had seen the GP 3 times. Since Chana Al-Alas was a high risk group at the time of her pregnancy (being under 18), the Government’s Healthy Start scheme should have guaranteed that she was able to access vitamin supplements for free. There were multiple occasions during which this family should have been encouraged to take vitamin supplements including vitamin D, which would have helped prevent rickets."
http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e2932/rr/581999
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
