Hello Lacnet Ladies, I am a breastfeeding educator in Victoria BC, Canada. I was recently called by a mom (who has given me permission to post her story) whose baby had been apprehended by the Ministry for Children and Families at 3 days. The baby was placed in foster care. I don't know why the baby was removed from the mom. On day 5, the mother started to pump and freeze her milk. She gave it to her social worker who gave it to the foster mother for the baby. The foster mother thought the milk was an odd colour. The mother said that on the first couple of days she pumped, the milk still had the yellow-gold colostrum colour. When it was frozen, the colour turned from yellow-gold to a red-orange colour. The foster-mother took the milk to her family doctor who said its colour indicated that the birth-mother was on some sort of medication and that the birth-mother's doctor would need to sign a note saying she was not on any contra-indicated medication. So the birth-mother went to her doctor and he wrote the required note, confirming that the mother was on no substances, legal or illegal, that could affect the safety of her milk. The note went back through channels to the foster-mother's doctor who said no, this was not sufficient, the milk would need to be analyzed. The birth-mother's doctor argued that this was un-necessary and refused to do it. All this happened over the Christmas Holidays, so everything took even longer than it would normally and so, the long and the short of it is that the baby did not get any breastmilk for six weeks. Meanwhile the mother pumped and pumped (25-30 ounces a day!) and fought to regain custody of her baby. She was successful in getting her baby back and I was called in to help get the baby back to the breast. It worked! Some skin-to-skin and standing up and jiggling him to calm him as she put him to the breast and she latched him twice within the first hour that we tried! He has now been fully breast-fed for a week. My question to you wise women has to do with a letter I want to write to the Ministry for Children and Families about the fact that this baby was deprived of his right to breastmilk. I want to know what references you would suggest with regards to breast-milk colour. I have the Breastfeeding Atlas which shows some darker-coloured colostrum, but nothing actually orange. I also wonder where I could find something that discusses a baby's right to breastmilk. I want to talk about the suspicions that are inherent in some attitudes to breastmilk - that it is a body fluid which might not be adequate in composition or quantity. I want to remind the professionals concerned that giving a baby formula is not without risk and is not a decision that should be taken lightly. I would be grateful for any suggestions you might have about sources to which I might direct the professionals involved in this case. Thank you for your help, Eva -- Eva Bild, MA, CD (DONA), LCCE Certified Doula, Certified Childbirth Educator, Breastfeeding Educator Mothering Touch Centre 975 Fort Street Victoria, BC 250-595-4905 - Fax: 250-595-4915 www.motheringtouch.ca *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome