The ethics of matching adoption applicants and women considering  
placing their child for adoption during pregnancy aside ... doesn't  
the baby belong to the mother and shouldn't she get to decide how her  
baby is cared for?? The "birth" mother is the legal mother until such  
time as consent has been signed and the revocation period passed if  
she wants the prospective adoptive mother to breastfeed her baby then  
it's up to her and is no business of the hospital.
Karleen Gribble
Australia

-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion  
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mary Oconnor
Sent: Wednesday, 30 March 2011 10:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Adoptive mother breastfeeding in the hospital

Do any of the hospital based LCs have a policy addressing adoptive  
mothers breastfeeding in the hospital?  We have had an increase in the  
number of adoptive mothers wishing to breastfeed the baby while in the  
hospital.  Our Case Managers have raised concerns against  
breastfeeding because of 2 main reasons:

1. the birth mother could change her mind and having had the baby  
nursed by another woman while in our care might present a liability  
for us and

2. since the adoptive mother is not a patient and we do not have  
access to her medical record are we open for liability because we can  
not ensure that the mothers' milk is safe for the infant in our care?

Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks Mary

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