Noah King, born March 11, has spent most of his short life in hospitals -- two in his native Tennessee and now the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh -- suffering from "complicated" symptoms.

Pittsburgh police are accusing the infant's mother of causing his latest medical crisis.

Amber Brewington told police Tuesday night that she injected Noah's feeding tube with a fully loaded syringe of salt water while he was in the care of Children's Hospital, according to a criminal complaint. She also said she injected him with four to five syringes of salt water while he was being treated at a hospital in Nashville, Tenn.

A nurse at Children's saw the woman trying to disconnect the baby's feeding tube, the complaint said.

Amber Brewington

Ms. Brewington, 21, of Duck River, Tenn., wanted to "speed up" her son's death, the complaint said, because he had been suffering from seizures and possible brain damage. She didn't want to see him suffer, the complaint said.

Noah was in critical condition at Children's, and his mother has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child. She was held at the Allegheny County Jail on a $50,000 straight bond.

Dr. Steven G. Docimo, vice president of medical affairs at Children's, described the situation as "tragic."

"We identified the problem quickly and notified police immediately. Children's experts are continuing to work closely with police in this ongoing investigation," he said in a statement. "Children's Hospital takes its role as a mandated reporter of suspected child abuse and maltreatment very seriously. Our experts are well-prepared to manage these unfortunate and unusual events."

During a news conference at the hospital yesterday, a pediatrician spoke with reporters about a mental illness called Munchausen syndrome by proxy, or MSP, which causes a parent or guardian to lie about or even cause a child's illness, usually as a means of gaining attention.

"Their abusive behavior to the child is planned. This is a deliberate move on their part," said Dr. Basil Zitelli, a pediatrician at Children's who has been involved with as many as 50 cases of MSP.

However, he and other Children's officials couldn't say with certainty if Ms. Brewington suffered from the illness.

Noah's illness dates to May, when he was admitted to Maury Regional Hospital in Columbia, Tenn. He was later transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville because he suffered from a "complicated set of symptoms," according to John Howser, a spokesman at Vanderbilt.

Noah arrived in Pittsburgh on July 9, accompanied by his father, Terry King. According to the criminal complaint, the infant had an unusually high sodium level when he was admitted to Children's Hospital -- one of the highest hospital officials had seen, even by adult standards.

But the child's condition then began to improve.

On Sunday, Ms. Brewington visited the baby. His condition quickly became worse, and he again had high sodium levels, the complaint said.

When the mother returned on Tuesday, hospital staff told her not to have any contact with Noah. But a nurse saw her standing over the baby and confronted her. She had a pink backpack with a plastic syringe, a large container of Morton Salt and two bottles of children's Pedialyte filled with salt water.

Staff called police, who arrested Ms. Brewington.

Authorities in Hickman County, Tenn., are aware of the case and Ms. Brewington's two other children are being cared for by a relative, a spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Children's Services told The Associated Press.

"We're a small community and we pull together," said Paula Baker, a neighbor in Duck River. "This has really shocked us. I never would have dreamed this in a million years."

She said family and friends had come together to help raise money for Noah's medical bills.

"He would get better at one point and then he'd get worse," she said. "I thought it was awful strange, but maybe they just don't know what's wrong with him."

She said Ms. Brewington and her boyfriend, Mr. King, were "normal" parents.

"I can't believe she did it. I don't want to believe she did it. I don't want to think she deliberately gave this baby salt water," Judy Stewart, Noah's grandmother, told WTVF-TV in Nashville.

Hickman County officials said Ms. Brewington has no criminal record, although Mr. King has faced criminal charges in the past. He has been interviewed by Pittsburgh police, but no charges were filed against him.

There are roughly 600 to 1,000 cases of MSP in the United States each year, according to Dr. Jane Hollingsworth, a psychologist and executive director of the child-abuse program at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Va.

She said the cases usually involve mothers, who often smother a child to create breathing problems or use some type of poison. The condition is difficult to diagnose, because most doctors tend to trust a mother's description of a child's ailments.

In May, a Frederick, Md., woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for poisoning her young daughter with magnesium and using syringes to remove blood.

There are also cases of misdiagnosis of MSP.

This same story originally misstated the title of Dr. Jane Hollingsworth, a psychologist who serves as executive director of the child abuse program at the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Va.