Vegan parents face prison: the child weighed only 5 kg and had no teeth

A Sydney vegan couple whose three children were kidnapped after the police discovered that their 20-month-old daughter was severely malnourished and suffering from rickets was liable to five years in prison.

The Sydney Downing Center Court heard a powerful statement from the victim from the baby's caregiver, who took the infant after she was removed from her parents' custody .

She said the 20-month-old girl weighed only 4.89 kg, looked like a three-month-old girl and had no teeth when she started to care for her in August 2018, reports news.com.au.

"I remember thinking how scary it was," she said in a statement.

She said that the baby was "so behind other children" and that he could not perform simple actions such as turning around.

She said the baby was now "traumatized" by the monthly and bi-monthly blood tests she had to undergo.

"She starts screaming and crying if she goes to a medicine room and the door is closed," she said in a statement.

She added that the baby's weight had become disproportionate to her height, which meant that she had become "technically obese".

She said that strangers asked her how old she was when she saw her because they would be "struck" by how small she was.

The police alleges that the 34-year-old father and the 32-year-old mother – who can not be appointed for legal reasons – fed their 20-month-old daughter on a strict diet "which is sorely lacking. nutrients for its fulfillment ".

The parents were first heard in court last May, two months after their toddler had an epileptic seizure at home. They both pleaded guilty to failing to support their child and causing serious injury.

After the crisis, the sick child spent a month in the hospital where doctors and nurses had been trying to give her the food she needed.

In just six months, the girl put 6 kg and was able to crawl and stand up alone.

The baby's mother's lawyer said that medical reports showed that his client was suffering from depression.

He said that she had left the hospital barely three and a half hours after the birth of the child, that she had not registered birth or his health insurance , or have the baby vaccinated.

He said that his client would stay awake at night in bed wondering if her partner was cheating on her with a co-worker and if she was a "useless" mother.

He added that she was not responding to calls from the baby's GP and that she was stressed by her lifestyle in a rented accommodation.

He said that she would spend all day in pajamas and that she could not even go shopping.

However, psychologist Yvonne Skinner, a doctor of psychology, told the court today that there was no evidence, based on medical records and her interview with the baby's mother, that the Accused was suffering from depression within 19 months.

She said this because she said that it was clear that she had developed a bond with her child and said that she enjoyed hugging her, at the same time Breastfeed and buy her clothes.

She added that tests conducted five months before the birth of the child showed that there was very little risk of postnatal depression.

The court documents show that the toddler's mother told the doctors that her daughter would usually have an oat cup with rice milk and half a banana in the morning, as well as a piece of bread grilled with jam or peanut butter for lunch.

For dinner, she said her daughter would be offered tofu, rice or potatoes. But she said the girl was a "tough eater" so she might be able to have oats again.

This diet caused serious nutrient deficiencies in the infant, including a lack of calcium, phosphate, vitamin B12, vitamin A, iron and zinc.

Her vitamin D levels – which can cause bone disease if they are considered too low – were "undetectable".

Rickets is a preventable bone disease that affects babies and young children and causes weak, soft bones. Rickets is usually diagnosed in children because of a lack of vitamin D, calcium or phosphorus.

The state of health of the girl was only brought to the attention of the doctors that last March, while the doctors were busy with the child after a seizure.

She was barely over a year old, but weighed only 4.9 kg – which is barely double what she weighed when she was newborn.

A doctor described it as a "floppy disk" and stated that the tiny girl of one and a half years had neither crawled nor talked during the month in detention, according to court documents.

In the context of a medical history investigation of the girl, doctors found the lack of immunizations, the lack of medical follow-up after her birth and the lack of Birth certificate or health insurance number.

The two older brothers of the toddler, aged six and four, are also supported by the government and also follow a vegan diet.