Why a mother smothers her baby

[KARE-TV, January 01, 0001] Even to a mental health expert the images are disturbing. We showed Dr. Cheryl Bemel, PhD, an Allina Medical Clinic - West St. Paul psychologist, the surveillance video captured last May at Children's Hospital in St. Paul to find out what she could make of the behavior of 24-year-old Katie Elaine Lewis. The video shows her trying to suffocate her then 5-month-old son in a hospital room by pinching his nose and closing his airway. What Dr. Bemel made of it is what is known as Munchausen by Proxy syndrome.