Thank for clarifying the details of this for us, Jake.

Occasionally, this issue comes up in the UK, and I have supported - 
by email - a handful of mothers who needed to inform their legal 
advisers of the realities of bf.

However, I am uncomfortable with a situation that has a mother saying 
'my ex-partner cannot have contact with our child because I am 
breastfeeding' which of course prompts the other side into saying 
'well, you have to wean'.

This makes breastfeeding the centre of the discussion, rather than 
the overall needs of the child. A mother might be ordered to wean, in 
order to somehow 'permit' contact - when we all know that 
breastfeeding hardly ever has to stop when mum and baby are separated.

Weaning in order to 'permit' extended contact with the absent parent 
(who maybe something of a stranger to the child) or to 'facilitate' 
absence from the mother is not good - but gradually building up 
contact with the absent parent is better for any child, breastfeeding 
or not. And bf can, and should, continue alongside this.

Breastfeeding can be used as a stick for the 'other side' to beat the 
mother with, and that cannot be good.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK

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