Winona Mother Enters Guilty Plea to Harming Toddler

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ A Winona mother has pleaded guilty to endangering her young son by trying to make him sicker so medical staff at Children's Hospital in St. Paul would pay closer attention to him.

The toddler was admitted to the hospital last July for ``failure to thrive.'' Doctors suspected Megan Kafer was harming her son because the child weighed so little despite their efforts to help him gain weight.

A criminal complaint says hospital officials placed the baby and Kafer in a hospital room setup with a surveillance camera and saw her inject something into her child's feeding tube with a syringe that later turned out to be a laxative.

The 25-year-old Kafer was charged with felony child endangerment. Kafer told a Ramsey County judge Thursday that she was struggling with postpartum depression, but now realizes her actions were wrong.