I read an article in English at the time, Nikki.  The mother was a
chronic alcoholic, who had drunk heavily all the way through the
pregnancy, and throughout the entire time she was breastfeeding.  She
had been known to be found unconscious in the streets, and had
previously been drinking pure alcohol consistently.

I thought at the time, that it is likely the baby was in very poor
health, from the repeated and massive alcohol abuse during the
pregnancy, and the subsequent bouts of drinking pure alcohol whilst
breastfeeding.

In the article I read, there had been no post-mortem evidence to the
cause of death, just that she had fed the baby, passed out herself, and
when she awoke, the baby was dead.  The implied location was that the
baby was 'elsewhere', but it was not openly stated - just that when she
went to check on the baby, the baby was dead. Obviously, the linking
factor was deemed to be the alcohol, but, as I said, I've not seen this
stated as a result of actual analysis.

Very sad, very sad little life the baby had.  Just like the baby who was
microwaved by her mother, instead of the formula, when the mother was
passing out drunk last year.  The issue is who is in charge of the baby,
not that the mother was breastfeeding.

Methinks this mother will be joining her baby before long...

Morgan Gallagher

 Nikki Lee wrote:
> Dear Friends:
>
> Thanks to Nina for sharing this article. Unfortunately, I can't read it. The
> mother drank half a liter of pure alcohol? *She* could have died from acute
> alcohol poisoning. I would like to know why her baby died. Did she roll on
> it whilst in a drunken stupor?
>
> The only case of a baby getting sick as a result of a mother's chronic
> alcohol ingestion that I know about was published in 1978
> *(J* Pediatr. 1978 Dec;93(6):965-7. Pseudo-Cushing syndrome caused by
> alcohol
> in breast milk. *Binkiewicz* A et al.)  The mother in this report was
> drinking 50 cans of beer plus several fifths of spirits a week. The 2-month
> old baby was admitted for symptoms of Cushing syndrome: buffalo hump, moon
> face, gaining weight but not length.
>
> If anyone knows of any others, I'd love to have the citations.
>
> What disturbs me about the conviction for drunken breastfeeding is that it
> is a slur on breastfeeding. The real issue is parenting while drunk. Babies
> need aware and alert caregivers; that point seems to have escaped public
> notice.
>
>
>

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