Tina:

My heart goes out to you.

We are Indigenous - I'm from and working on an Indian Reserve.

I had a CAS (same as CPS - children's services) worker tell a mom who had a
wee baby in care (weeks old) to write down when she ate, what she ate, what
she drank, when she drank, and when she pumped and put that on bottles.
Somehow, this worker would be able to trace food intolerances back to what
mom was eating/drinking - totally ignoring that the baby was also on
formula but formula couldn't possibly cause intestinal issues >.<

We have foster parents told to throw the milk away (I am slowly changing
this practice, thank goodness) not because of possible drugs - but they
didn't want moms to accidentally touch "human bodily fluids."

We have a system where Indigenous moms who are clean and taking methadone
not be allowed to even touch their babies in the unit. One nurse told a mom
to not even bother pumping because the hospital wouldn't give it to the
baby anyway. Let's just say non-Indigenous moms and babies were not treated
like this.

For people who feel disenfranchised (there are many who fall into this
category including people of colour, low socio-economic status, moms with
kids in care, etc), who feel they are not valued, who feel they don't have
a voice - they feel they can't change the system. They won't complain,
except to me and other workers on the Reserve. They won't ask doctors for
the scientific basis for their Orders.  Not feeling like you have a voice
is soul-eating. For moms who DO change, stop the substances, they get no
respect a lot of time.

Thank GOD for the nurses who do have compassion (and good lacctation
knowledge, or who are at least able to learn) who I have worked with. They
give me hope that things can change.

I don't do hospital visits because the 3 times I have gone in, I almost got
into a yelling match with the nurses for their inaccurate and immoral words
to these moms. I won't put the client  in danger of retribution after I
leave. I help the clients to do what they have to do to get out - then
spend weeks helping them gain milk supply - and their own confidence as
moms - back.

Steph, Oneida Nation
Canada

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