If I recall correctly, Liz Baldwin made a point of saying that in
custody suits, the baby's father does have some rights and that,
moreover, it is beneficial for the baby to maintain some time with dad
from infancy.  We all know that.  We know that babies are better off
when their dad is actively involved in their lives.  If Dad doesn't get
to spend any time with the baby until mom says it is old enough to spend
several hours away from her, they will be forced to try to make up for
lost time.  Some might think it is punishing the baby to do this, but I
would disagree.  Most babies can handle 2 hours away from mom, at least
for this reason.  There are many ways to arrange it and, IMO, it is
worth the effort to maintain the bond between father and child.  We
should not sacrifice that relationship completely for breastfeeding when
there are ways to maintain both.  Baby will adjust better if this
relationship is maintained than to try to reestablish it after a period
of time.  This is a situation of picking the lesser of two evils, if you
will.  Sure, usually we'd say don't separate mom and baby.  However, the
net effect of denying this rather minimal separation from mom is a
complete separation from dad!  I would encourage mom to try 2 hr
visitations, 1 hr even if that's all that's possible.  Babies need their
dad, too.

Marsha
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Marsha Glass RN, BSN, IBCLC~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mothers have as powerful an influence over the welfare of future
generations as all other earthly causes combined.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~John S. C. Abbot~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



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