I've been lurking but can't keep my mouth shut on this one.  I have been a
foster parent for several years. I currently have a baby who was born 37 wks
cocaine positive and Fetal Alcohol Syndome. It has been my experience that
mothers of children in protective custody will say most anything to get their
children returned and then fail to keep their commitments which results in
children re-entering custody. The information presented here is strictly from
the mother's point of view and I think that before any judgements can truly
be made one needs to know the condition of the baby.  Did mom use anything
else in addition to cocaine--Was c use only occassional or was it daily
throughout the pregnancy (as with my baby)--Are there any anomalies in the
baby(heart,lungs, kidney etc.) --etc.etc

I do believe that our protective services department may have a policy on
breastfeeding but have also known of foster parents who have had babies
returned after a visit in which breastfeeding took place. These babies
exhibited increased gastrointestinal problems and fussiness  which were
blamed on being fed by a mom who was still using her substance of choice .

We also have a 3 year old Fetal Alcohol Syndrome child that came to us at 6
months of  age. He weighed just over 6 pounds, was extreme FTT,  and had a
congenital heart defect. It is reported that he was being breastfed by a last
stage alcoholic mother.
As you can see I have strong feelings on this subject which I didn't develop
until we began seeing the other side of the coin and caring for damaged
children. Luckily most mothers who choose to breastfeed aren't like the birth
mothers of my special children.

More complete introduction to follow soon--just had to reply to this.

Catherine E. Tapey,IBCLC   Anchorage, Alaska