More drunken breastfeeding...

[katiesk]

Story.

Bummer. Why is the focus always on the breastfeeding while intoxicated and not on the parenting a dependent baby while intoxicated? And does LLL really advocate completely sober bf? I mean...I thought their stance was "a drink or two" or something along those lines.

Thoughts?

Oh and I found this bit especially annoying:

"It is quite unusual for a mother to be breast-feeding her child as we are conducting an investigation, whether she was intoxicated or not."

[CallMeMommy]

Originally Posted by katiesk

Story.

Bummer. Why is the focus always on the breastfeeding while intoxicated and not on the parenting a dependent baby while intoxicated? And does LLL really advocate completely sober bf? I mean...I thought their stance was "a drink or two" or something along those lines.

Thoughts?

Oh and I found this bit especially annoying:

Yeah, what the h#ll? "Sorry baby, the cops are here, you're just going to have to wait to eat..."? :

[katiesk]

oh, but the MOST annoying part of the story is that my partner just emailed the link to me saying, "i thought you should see this story" i don't think he was coming from a "lactivism" angle, either...

sweet.

[kiara7]

Oh yeah, and where is the abusive boyfriend who left her with a swallen face and scratches?

And, no BAC test?

[katiesk]

Originally Posted by katiesk

oh, but the MOST annoying part of the story is that my partner just emailed the link to me saying, "i thought you should see this story" i don't think he was coming from a "lactivism" angle, either...

sweet.

actually dp called to clarify that he was only emailing the story because he thought i would be interested...not because he was implying anything!! and i judged so quickly...

[mamazee]

And on top of everything else, she called them because she got beat up by her bf, and nothing happens to the bf. And they said they don't know who currently has custody of the child. Quite possibly, the bf who was living with this woman and the baby.

[Tine]

[mysticmomma]

since they don't know how drunk she was, with no bac, I wonder how they determined she didn't have a head injury from being beaten.

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by mysticmomma

since they don't know how drunk she was, with no bac, I wonder how they determined she didn't have a head injury from being beaten.

Well, like the police officer said, you have to take the whole picture into account. I mean, she breastfed IN FRONT OF THEM. Right?

[Juvysen]

ETA... how'd dr. amy get in on this?

[fruitfulmomma]

ETA... how'd dr. amy get in on this?

So BF'ing while drunk is just fine, but no homebirth, huh?

Anyway, yes the officer's logic is clear as mud on this one.

[Frootloop]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

So BF'ing while drunk is just fine, but no homebirth, huh?

Anyway, yes the officer's logic is clear as mud on this one.

*bolding mine*

Not sure about you, but my immediate thoughts were, "apparently the officer thought she had to have been drunk if she would have the audacity to do *that* right there in front of them".

What utter freakin' UAV

[dubfam]

Originally Posted by katiesk

Story.

Bummer. Why is the focus always on the breastfeeding while intoxicated and not on the parenting a dependent baby while intoxicated? And does LLL really advocate completely sober bf? I mean...I thought their stance was "a drink or two" or something along those lines.

Thoughts?

Oh and I found this bit especially annoying:

"It is quite unusual for a mother to be breast-feeding her child as we are conducting an investigation, whether she was intoxicated or not."

(bolding mine)
I came here to post about this EXACT statement!!! Made me FURIOUS!

[dubfam]

I am sick of hearing stories like this. In one of the articles I reading about this case the journalist pointed out that no one would have questioned what was in a bottle, and that the dangers from improperly mixed formula are much worse than alcohol in breast milk.

ETA Oops I guess that is mentioned in the linked article as well!

[readytobedone]

DH told me about this. i think it's positively disgraceful. the skeptical OB lady is absolutely right on this one--if she'd been drunk and formula feeding, they'd have NEVER arrested her

it's a violation of privacy, pure and simple, to arrest a mom for drinking and nursing. there are so many more urgent matters to attend to--like this woman's well-being, and that of her child, in a household with a possible abuser.

is there anything we can DO about this?

[readytobedone]

Originally Posted by mamazee

And on top of everything else, she called them because she got beat up by her bf, and nothing happens to the bf. And they said they don't know who currently has custody of the child. Quite possibly, the bf who was living with this woman and the baby.

yeah, seriously.

this enrages me. i cannot believe that the reaction to this situation was to arrest the woman, who had been assaulted, because she was breastfeeding while intoxicated.

misogyny, anyone? seriously.

[Pod4One]

That's just... sad, really. She has a 6 week old - she gets beat by her bf - she is feeding her baby - and *she* gets arrested? Huh? So, do you think they provided her with a pump while she was incarcerated? And if she gets 5 freaking years in prison for this - what will be acconmplished? A baby deprived of its mother; that's all.

Oh, they think she was drunk. Will that stand up in a court of law? "Yes Your Honor, we think the defendant killed someone", Judge: "That's good enough for me! Guilty!"

Ugh.

[1littlebit]

its like they think bfing in front of them is so obscene she must have bee drunk.. they act like she peed on the officer or something. sometimes people act awfully stupid.

[Devaya]

This is really disturbing. It reveals the underlying attitudes about breastfeeding in our culture, underneath all the lip service. And yes, blatant misogyny.

[Equuskia]

Originally Posted by kiara7

Oh yeah, and where is the abusive boyfriend who left her with a swallen face and scratches?

And, no BAC test?

That's the weirdest part. If she was so drunk, why not do a BAC test? To have solid evidence that she was endangering her child.

Sometimes when I'm playing with the baby, I hold her and spin around in my chair. Then of course, i get dizzy, and can't walk for a few moments. I'm not drunk, just dizzy. Imagine getting punched in the face or knocked upside the head. I think I'd be dizzy from the pain too. But nope. It must mean I'm drunk, especially if I breastfed in front of officers!

"The majority of our problems are caused by alcohol," said Grand Forks Police Capt. Kerwin Kjelstrom. "Our officers handle it so much that it is pretty much a general knowledge thing to know when someone is intoxicated. It's pretty obvious."

But of course! If someone is dizzy or incoherent, the only obvious reason is alcohol. And these officers have a built in drunkenness detector system right?

There are so many things wrong with this case, I'm surprised it made it in front of a judge without being laughed out of court for utter lack of evidence.