"Botox Mom" Loses Custody of Daughter
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A woman who admitted to injecting her eight year-old daughter with Botox on Good Morning America (GMA) last week has lost custody of her child.
SFGate.com is reporting that Kerry Campbell, a beautician from San Francisco, appeared on GMA last Thursday and stunned TV audiences with the admission that she injects her daughter, Britney, with Botox in order to make her more competitive in child beauty pageants.
"Like I said, I do the Botox myself. It's safe," Campbell told GMA. "She had watched me do it before. So when we first did it, she was fine with it."
But the public was not and the child abuse hotline at San Francisco's Human Services Agency received hundreds of phone calls after the episode. As a result, Britney was taken into custody while the agency investigates the situation.
In an interview in March with the Sun, Campbell said she purchases the Botox online and injects her daughter with it. She also waxes Britney's legs and bikini line in order to remove any "peace fuzz" and to make sure she doesn't develop pubic hair later in life.
"I know one day she will be a model, actress or singer, and having these treatments now will ensure she stays looking younger and baby-faced for longer," Campbell said. "I'm sure people reading this will think I am being irresponsible, but I ensure that I test the Botox and fillers I buy online on myself first. All I want is for Britney to have the best start in life, so it is easier for her to become a superstar. More mothers should do it for their daughters."
Apparently, many of them do. Giving Botox to young pageant contestants has become trendy in the world of American child pageants.
"When Britney takes part in pageants, parents talk about how they have given their daughter an extra jab [injection] to plump her lips or lose a wrinkle," Campbell said. "Everyone is doing it and talking about it.We are not doing anything illegal, and I don't want my daughter being the only one who doesn't have a bit of extra help."
There are currently no laws in the U.S. to prevent these types of procedures from being done on minors, although the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of Botox on children.
Bitney has no problem with the treatments. "My friends think it's cool I have all the treatments and they want to be like me," she told the Sun. "I check every night for wrinkles, when I see some I want more injections. They used to hurt, but now I don't cry that much. I also want a boob and nose job soon, so that I can be a star."
"As a doctor, if I'd seen this mother, I would be required to report her to protective services because it's maltreatment," ABC News' chief health and medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser told GMA. "Any doctor who would give a parent Botox to administer to their children should lose their license...there's not a state where you don't need to be a licensed doctor or under direct supervision of a doctor to inject this."
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