After reading the stories in the Seattle area press on the unhappy situation
surrounding a 9 month old baby whose mother removed him from hospital when
faced with what she thought was a threat to his life, I don't think we can
say that the mother's actions were necessarily thoughtless.

Since the baby had been formally removed from his mother's custody and made
a ward of state child protective services weeks before, because his mother
did not share the opinions of the pediatricians and other specialists
involved in his care and was resisting dialysis and surgery, she could not
have signed him out of the hospital under any circumstances.  The custody
order recognized that his parents were the people he needs most of all, and
both parents were sharing his hospital room with him, and his mother was
breastfeeding him, possibly exclusively, though it isn't entirely clear from
the story.  

The health care team supported her continuing to breastfeed him.  After he
was found, in good shape too, they also backed down about the imminency of
the threat to his health and well-being, and the system that sends out amber
alerts would not have been used had the health care team been more
forthcoming about the actual danger to the child.

In none of the stories have we learned the child's specific diagnosis.  The
hospital has very correctly, in keeping with rules of confidentiality, not
given details about his condition, and the family has referred to it only as
a kidney ailment.  We don't know whether he was born prematurely nor whether
his growth is affected by the kidney condition.  We don't have enough
information on which to make a judgment about the mother's thoughtfulness or
lack thereof.  Regardless of whether she deserved to be incarcerated for
several, days I find it disturbing that it was only through the efforts of
her activist network that she was able to maintain her milk supply or even
get a pump to relieve the pressure in her breasts, which must have been
really uncomfortable since she is supplying all the needs of a child who
eats little else, if anything. 

What I can tell from the news coverage is that there has been a total
breakdown in communication between the health professionals and the mother,
and I am prepared to believe that both parties honestly feel they have his
best interests in mind.  This situation calls to mind the excellent book
which has been mentioned many times on Lactnet, 'The Spirit Catches You and
You Fall Down' by Anne Fadiman, ISBN 0-374-52564-1.  Never have I seen such
a brilliant chronicling of the damage that can occur when two cultures clash
the way they did around the child with epilepsy whose story is told here.
One of the most moving parts of the book for me has to do with
breastfeeding.  I have no financial interest in the book.  If you haven't
yet had a chance to read it, you are in for something wonderful.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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