My thanks to everyone who submitted a comment or contacted me privately about my blog: “Types of Birthmarks—My Daughter’s Mongolian Spot.” I appreciate the stories you shared regarding your own experiences with these unusual birthmarks. I especially want to thank those who provided information regarding the misdiagnosis of Mongolian spots.
I did some research and found that there are many, many documented cases in which in young children have been taken from their parents because someone unfamiliar with Mongolian spots mistook the birthmarks for bruises. Several years ago, one highly publicized case (that was eventually picked up by several media outlets) detailed the story of two young Japanese girls living in Portland, Oregon who had been removed from their home when a babysitter noticed what appeared to be large, deep bruises on their buttocks. Portland authorities maintained that they took the girls from their home “for their own good.”
The parents of the two girls were charged with child abuse and kept from their daughters for more than a week before one pediatrician finally made the determination that the “bruises” were in fact Mongolian spots. The child abuse charges were eventually dropped, but the entire family still has emotional scars from the ordeal.
I have a hard time understanding how a person in the medical profession could have incorrectly diagnosed the spots, but I suppose stranger things have happened. I just hope that the number of cases in which these types of birthmarks are misdiagnosed decrease as awareness about them increases.
A final note about birthmarks… in researching Mongolian spots I stumbled upon a book written by a young boy about birthmarks (traditional birthmarks—-not Mongolian spots).
Twelve-year-old Evan Ducker has written a book with his mom about a bird born with a large birthmark. It’s titled “Buddy Booby’s Birthmark.” In it the Ducker’s try to dispel misconceptions about birthmarks (which Evan sometimes refers to as “stork bites” or “angel kisses”).
Ducker was born with a birthmark so large he routinely undergoes laser treatments to close some of the blood vessels. Doctors note that Ducker’s situation is not all that rare—-more than half of all babies are born with birthmarks, which are usually the result of too many blood vessels in one place or too many pigmented cells in one area.
Ducker’s mother said they decided to collaborate on the book after they were unsuccessful in finding children’s books written about birthmarks.
Now the mother-son team is going one step further to promote birthmark awareness. They decided to donate part of the proceeds from the book to benefit the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation.
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