Court asks mom to stop nursing
In a case that I find totally offensive in every way possible, a St. Cloud, Minnesota nursing mother in the middle of a custody battle was asked to stop breastfeeding by a court investigator.
Christa Burton, whose son Carter is now 15 months old, takes three different medications that are all listed as safe in the book Medications and Mothers’ Milk. The court made the recommendation based on testimony from a nurse practitioner who originally recommend that Burton breastfeed her child who was born 6 weeks premature. The court says that they’re erring on the side of safety, despite the fact that a doctor says about the medications, “They are basically all fine, particularly in a 14-month-old infant who can metabolize drugs as good if not better than an adult.”
Obviously I don’t know anything about this case other than the articles I’ve read, but it seems like the court is being totally misogynistic and anti-mother in this case. I’m sure that the father is probably threatened by the mother-son bond, and the fact that they’re still nursing threatens him even more. I can’t believe that this is fair game in a custody hearing, that the court is willing to ignore the numerous benefits of nursing a toddler to appease the father.
If you’re nursing a baby or toddler and are prescribed a medication make sure it’s safe for your child before you fill the prescription. Many unsafe medicines have safe alternatives. Medications and Mothers’ Milk sounds like a fantastic resource. I’ve been relying on the medication index in my copy of the Nursing Mother’s Companion.
Kellymom has an extensive list of the benefits of extended breastfeeding. Here are just a few of them.
* 29% of energy requirements
* 43% of protein requirements
* 36% of calcium requirements
* 75% of vitamin A requirements
* 76% of folate requirements
* 94% of vitamin B12 requirements
* 60% of vitamin C requirements
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