Sydney Nurse Arrested After ‘Almost Killing’ 8-Month-Old Baby With Naturopathy

A Sydney nurse was arrested after she had asked a mother to stop medication for an 8-month-old baby. The process almost killed the child.

Marilyn Bodnar, a self-proclaimed naturopath, was consulted by the mother whose child had been suffering from eczema. The 59-year-old midwife allegedly told the mother to stop dermatological and medical treatments for the child.

In May, when the child got admitted to Westmead Hospital, he was suffering from development issues and malnourishment. Police allege that the child was close to death as he had lost more than one kilogram.

Bodnar was arrested by Child Abuse Squad detectives at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. Bodnar was granted conditional bail for her appearance at Fairfield Local Court later in July.

NSW Health confirmed in a statement that naturopaths were unregistered health practitioners. According to the statement, they are subject to a code of conduct under the Public Health Act and Regulation.

Dr. Brian Morton, the chairman of the Australian Medical Association's Council of General Practice, said that people should always opt for evidence-based treatments. "It's very important to continue medical treatment that's been prescribed and speak to the doctor who's prescribed that before you make a decision," ABC News quoted him, “I think it's very important that alternative health practitioners know when they've made an error.”

Morton added that alternative therapy was not much effective in dermatological conditions like eczema. People should always go for “safe methods of treatment,” he said.

Detectives took Bodnar to Narellan police station where she was charged with “recklessly causing grievous bodily harm in principle in the second degree, and aiding, abetting or failing to provide for a child, causing danger of death,” Sydney Morning Herald reported. The mother of the child has already been facing similar charges for “failing to provide for a child, causing danger of death” and “recklessly causing grievous bodily harm.”

According to Morton, alternative treatments are not passed through the Therapeutic Goods Administration. That is why it is not possible to know the real effect of such treatments. He said that the safety profile of such treatments were also unknown.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au