Arly writes:
I have had complaints from my clients that breastfeeding mothers who are
involved with Family Court mediation are having their rights to breastfeed
disregarded. Typically, they are told that they should allow their infants to be
given “formula” to make shared custody in early infancy easier for the
father.
~~
Arly,
What a great letter. One thing I'm thinking about is helping everyone to see
that this infringes on the baby's right not just the mother's. Sadly, many
separations and divorces I've witnessed have been quite ugly, and the one
partner is really hurt and wants to get back at the other. They cannot even seem
to remember that they ever loved this person, and want to do whatever they can
to hurt them. Hopefully every parent can be reminded that they are an adult
who loves their baby, and let's talk about how the baby is or may be
affected. I throw this out for consideration: " I have had complaints from my clients
that mothers who are involved with Family Court mediation are noting that
their baby's critical need to breastfeed is being disregarded. " or something
like that. This puts the norm of any mothers out in front, for those court
persons who are already on alert when they read the phrase "breastfeeding
mothers". Sadly, formula is the accepted term, now innocuous-sounding to most,
for artificial baby/infant milk, so no need to put that in quotes. Again it
makes it easier to read without hackles going up for those who are not as
educated about this topic. There could also be a mention in a later paragraph that
the CDC, AAP, and other agencies set the standard as"exclusive breastfeeding"
for six months, followed by "continued breastfeeding with complementary
foods" after that, to a minimum of one year (AAP) or to two years and beyond
(GSIYCF.)
Just a few thoughts. Hopefully this will help a lot of mother-baby dyads.
Peace,
Judy
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY, USA
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