The approach we use, when inhuman things like this are being suggested,
is to concentrate on the rights of the child, not the mother.  It's not
about the mother, essentially - it's about the effect of the action upon
the child.

The risk of premature trauma weaning, the distress to the baby from the
loss of the mother, and her milk, the risk to the milk supply, and the
risks of formula feeding.  These are all risks that will be inflicted
upon the child. If the child has only ever had the breast, and not a
dummy or pacifier, or a bottle teat, there is the added loss of the
imprinted oral bond - Elsie Mobbs in Australia is doing excellent study
on this.

We are fortunate in the UK, as we have a UK court ruling on the European
Human Rights, that it's against Human Rights to deprive a baby of the
mother's breast, if the mother does not with the disruption.  Others in
non-European areas, have prepared advocacy statement on the basis of the
UN Convention of Human Rights, which is more amorphous, as it doesn't
specifically mention breastfeeding, but it can be inferred.

I'll send you some advocacy statements we've used in the past, via
email. The important point is the advocacy is on behalf of the baby, not
the mother: you speak for the baby.

Morgan Gallagher

www.NursingMatters.org.uk

Senecca Kirkhart wrote:
> I have a mother of a two month old exclusively breastfed baby who is
> scheduled to report for her annual three week summer training for the
> National Guard this summer.  Mom would be required to go three weeks
> without seeing and/or feeding her baby at the breast as the training
> is not near home.

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