Doctor jailed for trying to kill her baby with adulterated milk

A former doctor from Utrecht has been jailed for 11 years for attempting to kill her newborn baby by feeding her poisoned breast milk.

The baby was born prematurely in April 2020 and was being looked after while in an incubator when the attempt was made on her life.

The court was told that the woman, known only as Sarah V, delivered expressed milk to the hospital for her daughter. However, unbeknown to the nursing staff, she had systematically watered down the milk and added an anti-diarrhea drug. This led the baby to develop severe heart issues which baffled the doctors.

V’s act only came to light when the breast milk was analysed and the baby was given artificial milk, which led to her recovery.

The sentence is in line with the public prosecution department’s demand. “You took it for granted that she would die,” the court said, announcing its findings. “The baby was exposed to a drug which cannot be given to children under the age of three, let alone a premature baby.”

V was, however, found not guilty of attempting to make her son ill a few years previously, even though he showed stunted growth and had serious intestinal problems.

V, who was a practicing doctor but has since been declared unfit for work, denied all the charges. She says that she was suffering from post-natal psychosis and is not aware of what she did.

The court, however, said this is unlikely, given that no such psychiatric problem had been identified in her. The public prosecutor had said the woman suffered from Munchhausen’s syndrome by proxy, but the court ruled this had not been fully established.