No one has mentioned the brief article with the above caption that appeared
in the N.Y. Times on Friday, May 29, 1998, on p. A17.  Here is the text:

        "For weeks, Tatiana Cheeks fussed happily over her newborn baby,
who gurgled and squirmed vbut never seemed to thrive.  The little girl
always seemed hungry, no matter how often she nursed.  And when the child
died in her sleep in March, relatives said, Ms. Cheeks wailed inconsolably,
overwhelmed by the shock of losing her 6-week-old.
        But yesterday, the mother in mourning was in handcuffs, facing
charges of criminally negligant homicide for failing to properly nourish
her baby, Chanelle.  Ms. Cheeks, 21, pleaded not guilty in an arraignment
in State Supreme Court, Brooklyn.
        It was the second time in eight months that a young mother who
breast-fed her baby had been charged with unintentionally killing her
child.  In October, Tabitha Walrond of the Bronx, then 19, was accused of
starving her 2-month-old."

This item is presented without comment under the heading, "Digest: the New
York Region."  I think these kinds of "news" articles are very unfortunate.
 This undoes the good work of the Newsweek article for many readers.  I am
always suspicious that the whole story has not been told or understood.
Where was the health care system in all this?  How can these situations
still occur?  Do you New York City LC's have any further information about
these cases?  The NY Times is read widely in our area and throughout the
U.S.A. and is viewed as a responsible journal.

Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC and LLL leader in Madison, WI
e-mail:  [log in to unmask]