Just wanted to add a bit about forced separation from a developmental
perspective:

The issue of separating a baby from his/her primary attachment figure is
clear cut to us, but can be tricky in court.  For every expert witness who
testifies that forced separation can damage a baby, there will be another
who disputes a variety of issues from the age and developmental abilities of
the baby , to debating the father's role as a primary care giver.  It
becomes political when implying that a parent cannot work and be a primary
care giver.  For this reason, sometimes the attachment argument backfires.

Having said that, the literature in the realm of child development is pretty
clear that
1-prolonged negative states of affect are toxic to young children.  If a
baby is experiencing loss during separation, that constitutes prolonged
negative affect.
2-inappropriate separation can disrupt and permanently damage attachment
relationships, which can in turn result in lifelong avoidant or ambivalent
attachments and relationships
3-during times of separation, the child should have continuity of caregivers
who are already known to the child; unavoidable, regular separation must be
introduced very gradually and with great caution.
4-the age and immediate personal needs of the child should be the paramount
consideration
5-the time frame of separation is a crucial consideration

A six month old is at a delicate point developmentally in terms of forming
representations about the responsiveness of the world, and about forming
relationships.  Inappropriate separation now could disrupt the formation of
these fundamental issues.  The risks are huge.  Separation and shuffling
back and forth for week-long chunks of time, in my opinion, is absolutely
and inarguable inappropriate from a developmental perspective.  Babies have
no temporal orientation; a week is not a defined period of time. Doing it
once is bad enough, but ongoing???

It is unfortunate (understatement) that breastfeeding is not recognized as a
relationship, and is even mangled when it is considered to be 'just about
the milk".

Joanne McCrory

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