Ms. Whatley,
   I am writing to implore you to take a positive stand and uphold the principles (easing emotional stress, providing a home away from home) and stated goals of RMH.  I have just learned about the situation with the mother nursing her gravely ill 17 month old child, who is now facing possible eviction from your facility.  
      This mother is doing everything she can to support, heal and comfort her child, and those she is turning to for help in doing so are now punishing her for doing so.  Speaking as the mother of a child with complex health issues (luckily none that were immediately life threatening; my child's doctor has attributed his ability to avoid repeated hospitalization to being breastfed during his illnesses) I can assure you that the ability to nurse a toddler who is ill is crucial; the comfort, the nutrition, the immune benefits, all play into the child's ability to recover.  As if that were not enough to sway your decision, the law in your state very clearly and concisely supports her in nurturing her child.  
     It is your organization whose motives are now in question: do you care about the child's welfare and about abiding by the stated laws governing her right to care for her child?  Or does the misguided bias against the natural function of a woman's breasts trump law and compassion?  I suggest that anyone objecting to her nursing her child be gently educated as to her legal right to do so (and you may also want to include the many health benefits this child clearly needs so desperately and is recieving when he is nursing) , then invited to leave the area when her child needs to be nursed; they will no longer be bothered by it and she will no longer have to deal with bias and additional stress during this horrible time in the lives of her child and herself.  MANY of us who care about the welfare of children and their right to be breastfed will be watching the outcome of this situation, in order to better understand the priorities your organization truly holds dear.
   Esther Friedman, IBCLC, MS, nursing mother

www.firstgiving.com/tylermom
There is no greater accomplishment than helping a child...

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