Sara wrote:
>This mother works as a carer in a childcare facility where she cares for
kids 2-4 years, she has a baby of 5 weeks and will be going back to work
soon (2 days per week). The baby will go to the same creche and obviously
the baby group. Sounds good hey? Mother and baby close by to breastfeed when
necessary. Well, all is not so rosey. The powers to be will not "allow' her
to put the baby to the breast at work! Now wait, it gets better - she is
"allowed" to express milk and bring it to her baby so that another
carer can give the bottle!!!!!!!
>Anyway to cut a long groan short, I was able to give her the original legal
text which states that a breastfeeding mother has legal rights to breastfeed
her child at work (on-site or off-site, or express milk) for up to a quarter
of her normal working time, until that baby is 9 months.

Sara, here in the USA this is a common scenario. Makes no sense at all, does it?
Unfortunately, we do not have any laws to protect the breastfeeding relationship
like you do in the Netherlands, so mothers have no comeback.

I would, however, like to share with you the experience of one mother with whom
I worked a couple of years ago. Like your client, her own baby was cared for in the *baby room* while she took care of toddlers. She was also told that she would not be allowed to nurse, only to supply pumped milk. She explained that her 6 week old baby refused bottles,
but they said *he would learn* :(  Of course she was very upset but she needed the job.

At the end of her first day back at work she asked how her baby had managed, and was told that he was fine. She noticed that he nursed more than usual that evening and through the night, but put it down to his being upset about the separation etc..

On her second day back at work, just before noon, one of the women who took care of her baby came storming into the toddler room. *I don't care what you were told,* she said, *but you HAVE to come and feed your baby RIGHT NOW!* Apparently, the baby was disturbing all the other little ones and could not be calmed down. It turned out that her baby had refused ALL the bottles on the previous day and had not fed at all, and was still holding out for his mother.
Eventually, the director of the childcare center made a *special exception* to allow this mother to nurse her child whenever he needed her.

My heart goes out to all mothers and babies who are separated at the very time they need each other the most. Right now I am working with another mother, a single woman with an 18 month old and 7 month old, both nursing. Because of our crazy laws, the government insists on paying for her babies to be cared for by others while she earns a fraction of that cost herself. If she does not comply, she will lose all benefits and literally be penniless and homeless.  What the heck happened to common sense, let alone sentiments like *Give me you tired and your poor* ?

Sink and tired of this whole mess, and very angry, norma

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