Jail refuses to let mother pump breast milk for newborn

[southcitymom]

Well the whole point of jail is to take away the persons rights, I am not saying that this is right in this case because the baby cant help it.

That's just not true. People in jail do have rights; jail simply limits some of their freedoms.

This woman has not even been tried in a court of law - she says she had no idea her brother stole the CD. Why in the world won't they let her provide breastmilk for her child - it seems like a ridiculous position for the jail to take. I hope she can get the Court Order she needs.

 

[MeoW333]

The only reason they are holding her in the jail is for immigration. They should just let her out as she was going to return to Brazil to family there to help her care for the children. If she's got plane tickets then they could do a house arrest while they wait for immigration or whatever. This is ridiculous, it's a jail, not even a prison. Some prisons have programs which allows the mothers to be with their children while incarcerated.

 

[KatK]

No, this is wrong. Breastfeeding mothers have rights. Also, they are interfering with a babies inalienable right to have food. That is the kind of food the baby best tolerates, and that is the kind of food the baby should, by all rights have. They are wrong to prevent her from providing food for her baby, period. This case should be heard by the Supreme Court, so a ruling can be made in favor of making provisions to allow for breastfeeding mothers who are jailed to be able to continue feeding their child(ren). This isn't about "she broke the law she should suffer". This is about the inarguable right anyone has to the food their stomach can tolerate, period.

 

[Details]

I think it's wrong - officials are being lazy. First off - boy - engorged breasts hurt!!!! A lot! Just out of basic humanity, she should be allowed to pump. If they're worried about drugs and such, the stuff can be frozen.

Also - once you stop pumping or breastfeeding - the milk dries up, and often won't come back. Breastfeeding makes the child healthier, more intelligent, etc. - it's a very good thing. To say that you lose all 1-2 years of breastfeeding, all those benefits, because you are being held on charges - not even convicted - just sounds very wrong.

Yes, you go to jail, your family, including your children are affected. But this seems so easy to deal with, and such a huge impact, to me, seems officials are just being lazy, not allowing her to pump and freeze, and they can give the milk to baby if she's clean, or at least let her pump and toss it. This really is something that only the mother can give her.

 

[southcitymom]

I think it's wrong - officials are being lazy. First off - boy - engorged breasts hurt!!!! A lot! Just out of basic humanity, she should be allowed to pump. If they're worried about drugs and such, the stuff can be frozen.

Also - once you stop pumping or breastfeeding - the milk dries up, and often won't come back. Breastfeeding makes the child healthier, more intelligent, etc. - it's a very good thing. To say that you lose all 1-2 years of breastfeeding, all those benefits, because you are being held on charges - not even convicted - just sounds very wrong.

Yes, you go to jail, your family, including your children are affected. But this seems so easy to deal with, and such a huge impact, to me, seems officials are just being lazy, not allowing her to pump and freeze, and they can give the milk to baby if she's clean, or at least let her pump and toss it. This really is something that only the mother can give her.

Very well-stated. I agree 100%.

 

[nanandjim]

The only reason they are holding her in the jail is for immigration. They should just let her out as she was going to return to Brazil to family there to help her care for the children. If she's got plane tickets then they could do a house arrest while they wait for immigration or whatever. This is ridiculous, it's a jail, not even a prison. Some prisons have programs which allows the mothers to be with their children while incarcerated.

If it is just for an immigration violation, I agree. It is ridiculous. Let her return to Brazil with the baby. Geez...

 

[txsvicki]

If the woman is an illegal, she could have parasites or some tropical illness that she brought to our country. I wouldn't want to handle breast milk or any sort of bodily fluid for any inmate, especially an illegal alien. If she continues to breast feed her breasts will leak some and she'd need those pads and no telling what all sorts of extra things. Then, if the baby gets sick due to some mix up, who will she be blaming. She is a criminal, an admitted illegal alien and now our tax dollars are paying for her incarceration.

 

[philamena]

Have to admit that I agree with txvicki.
The woman is an illegal alien and I don't believe she would be denied medical help if she needed it while in jail. But her baby can receive milk donated by other mothers or she can be fed formula.

 

[KatK]

They test the inmates for disease, and they get a checkup, don't they? If she is showing no sign of having an alien burst out of her chest at any moment, then she should be allowed to pump her breast milk. Let the infirmary handle this, they have gloves and masks, and can deal with breast milk more easily than blood or urine I'd think, since it's going into a sterile container.

 

[Glow]

If the woman is an illegal, she could have parasites or some tropical illness that she brought to our country. I wouldn't want to handle breast milk or any sort of bodily fluid for any inmate,/QUOTE]


the same things could be said about any restaurant we all eat at. And yet how many of us worry about that?

 

[Details]

"bodily fluid"? It's not semen - it's breast milk. Babies eat it! Most hygenic thing to come off of your body - I'd be more worried about hair than breastmilk.

What reason is there to deny her the ability to breast feed her child over the next year? Why should the child be punished for her mom's crime, when it isn't necessary?

 

[Penelope631]

who ever is taking care of the infant can get breast milk from a breast milk bank..

 

[GlitchWizard]

who ever is taking care of the infant can get breast milk from a breast milk bank..

Why pay for something you already should have for free - that God provided already?

As for formula - just look at the research. Cow milk is for cows. Breast milk from a human has all kinds of properties that other milks just can't simulate.

 

[Details]

who ever is taking care of the infant can get breast milk from a breast milk bank..

For the next year and a half? Once the mother dries up, that's generally it. Breast milk bank is expensive, not always covered, you have trust issues (was the donor really healthy?), and won't be there for the entire time she's losing the milk for. They strongly recommend breast feeding for the first year, and actually first two years is a good thing.

A kid whose mom is in jail - we can't let her out to be the caregiver. But breast milk - that can be done, and should be done. It'll have an impact on the entire rest of his life - including whether or not he becomes a criminal in turn, not to mention the child's general health, how much he'll cost us in medical care (us being society), how much he'll contribute (IQ averages higher in breast fed kids). And it's general humanity. He wasn't convicted of a crime, and to what degree is reasonable, we should avoid punishing him - to me, letting mom pump is reasonable.

 

[2sisters]

For the next year and a half? Once the mother dries up, that's generally it. Breast milk bank is expensive, not always covered, you have trust issues (was the donor really healthy?), and won't be there for the entire time she's losing the milk for. They strongly recommend breast feeding for the first year, and actually first two years is a good thing.

A kid whose mom is in jail - we can't let her out to be the caregiver. But breast milk - that can be done, and should be done. It'll have an impact on the entire rest of his life - including whether or not he becomes a criminal in turn, not to mention the child's general health, how much he'll cost us in medical care (us being society), how much he'll contribute (IQ averages higher in breast fed kids). And it's general humanity. He wasn't convicted of a crime, and to what degree is reasonable, we should avoid punishing him - to me, letting mom pump is reasonable.

Breast feeding has absolutley nothing to do with whether or not this kid is going to become a criminal later in life! How insulting! i bottle fed both of my kids for a myriad of reasons, the main one being my lack of milk and I do not think for a minute that they will be dumber than other kids or will be criminals. In fact my kids are quite smart already this early on in their lives. I am a good mother and have not done my kids wrong in any way by bottle feeding and I am so tired of other insinuating that mother's who do not breast feed are somehow ruining their kids lives. Health wise breast milk is best but some just can't do it for whater reason and this woman is one of them so they need to get down to the store and start the process of elimination with formula like the rest of us have had to do.

 

[philamena]

who ever is taking care of the infant can get breast milk from a breast milk bank..

\

Exactly what I was thinking Penelope631.

 

[philamena]

Why pay for something you already should have for free - that God provided already?

As for formula - just look at the research. Cow milk is for cows. Breast milk from a human has all kinds of properties that other milks just can't simulate.

If you like I'll start a thread in the proper place (parking lot ) where we can discuss the pros and cons of breast feeding. FWIW, I bottle fed both my children and they are healthy, thriving teens and adults.

 

[2sisters]

If you like I'll start a thread in the proper place (parking lot ) where we can discuss the pros and cons of breast feeding. FWIW, I bottle fed both my children and they are healthy, thriving teens and adults.

Please do b/c I can see this turning into one of those situations where the bottle feeders are demonized about the poor choice they made in choosing bottles.
I will see you there!

 

[Jen_in_Indy]

Unless there is a pediatrician who says that this baby can ONLY drink breastmilk due to a health issue, there isn't an issue here for me. There are plenty of babies who aren't breastfed and there are many many different types of formula available.

Whether she is innocent or guilty of the theft is irrelevant since it sounds like she is an illegal alien. She is here illegally and that is breaking the law. When you break the law, you go to jail. You don't get special privilages because you have a baby. If you wanted your baby to be exclusively breastfed, you shouldn't have broken the law. End of story.

 

[GlitchWizard]

If you like I'll start a thread in the proper place (parking lot ) where we can discuss the pros and cons of breast feeding. FWIW, I bottle fed both my children and they are healthy, thriving teens and adults.

I think breast vs. bottle is just as controversial as anything else. I had a friend who was pregnant at the same time as I was and we were totally opposite in our beliefs. I was for breastfeeding, she was for bottle feeding, I wanted to use cloth diapers, she wanted disposables, I never spanked my child, she did. I swear she'd wait to hear my opinion and go the opposite on purpose! It was a rather unique friendship in that we each allowed for each other's differences. She only let me babysit when her sitter was on vacation though - because I had the kids covered in paint, clay, glue, sparklies and playing outside in the rain.... and she didn't want her kid to get dirty, of course. (I never let her babysit...)

Nope, no need to discuss it. I'll be all over my daughter with advice, though, when she gives me grandbabies. Otherwise, I'm all about a woman's right to choose how she raises her baby - as long as there isn't any danger involved.