This is not a hypothetical question but based on a real case. Clearly I am not going to identify the people involved but I am interested in wider Mumsnetter opinions, as I have come across different opinions relating to this.
A mother who lives abroad visits the UK to spend some time with her infant child's grandparents. The child is approx 16-19 months old, a delight, doing well and weaned.
Suddenly the mother is taken ill and rushed to hospital, leaving the child in the care of her grandparents. She's admitted to the High Dependency Unit. Naturally, the grandparents take the child to visit the mother in hospital. The mother is apparently in so much pain, doctors have put her on an IV drip for morphine.
On arrival at the hospital the mother insists on breast feeding her child, despite the fact that she has been on solid foods for weeks. This causes alarm amongst medical staff including the ward sister who make it very clear to her that she should not do that due to the high risk of her milk being contaminated with morphine. This reaction of course alarms the grandparents as well. The mother refuses to stop breast feeding and points out to the staff that they cannot stop her, and that it is her opinion that no harm will come to her child. The staff continue to protest, the mother continues to maintain her right to breast feed and that no harm will come of it.
Sometime later the mother is in another hospital in the same area. Again a High Dependency Unit. Once more, when her child is brought in to see her she immediately attempts to breast feed and medics raise objections because of the IV morphine. The mother, showing remarkable strength of spirit for someone in a HDU, refuses to desist.
Eventually the grandparents refuse to take the child in to visit the mother because they are so concerned about her behaviour. Social services become involved (it is assumed alerted by the hospital staff) but once the mother is made aware of their visits to the grandparents she seems to immediately recover, discharge herself and within 24 hours is leaving the UK to her residence in Europe with her child.
The mother is not a medic or medically qualified. The quantities of morhpine she was receiving are not known. I am not a medic, and whilst I am relatively confident that morphine passes easily from breast milk to the child, I could not say what the potential harm would be to that child.
The mother's main argument was that she did not want her milk to dry up - yet the child was 16-19 month old and weaned. Is this an acceptable argument? Even if the risk to the child was minimal was this an acceptable way to behave?
I'm a parent but not a mother. Obviously a Dad S. My view at the moment is that to expose a child to a risk of contamination by such a powerful drug as morphine when it was entirely unnecessary and against medical advice must border on a form of abuse.
Perhaps others would think that the mother's wish to maintain her milk supply, or her rights to breast feed and that any harm, in her view, would be minimal, justify her actions.
I'd be interested to hear what other Mumsnetters think.
AIBU?
to think that unnecessarily breast feeding an infant whilst on IV morphine and against medical advice may constitute abuse
MollyPapa · 22/06/2011 20:53
That wasn't a mistake though it was willful ignorance of the facts. If they weren't sure they should have taken it up with the pharmacist (you know the one who checks everyone's meds once a day whilst they are admitted to hospital) who would have a copy of Hale's Medications and Mothers Milk to refer to.
If they weren't sure about the safety of the drug and bfing then they should have checked BEFORE administering it to the mother. What would have happened if it was a drug which ceased lactation or was toxic if ingested?
I expect though it was assumed that even if the mother was bfing she would throw a parade at being given a legitimate reason to wean - 'sorry darling mummy's milk will make you sick no more nursing '.
I've been in intolerable pain due to to gall stones/pancreatitis and still managed to check the safety of medication before taking it. And guess what sometimes the Drs were wrong the first time and when they checked Hale's it was safe 
Just wanted to say I have also bf whilst on IV morphine (in fact expressed bm for prem daughter) with the positive encouragement of paediatricians & nurses. I would say that in a 'normal' ie not maternity unit they may well not have a clue about breast feeding as they probably don't see very many breast feeding mums. When I was on intensive care I was basically the only person there not receiving 'end of life care' to put it nicely 
. Doctors can't be experts in everything, but they should have taken advice. I feel very sorry for mum & baby in this scenario.
Another who has bf on morphine here. I also know anecdotal cases of mothers who have been due into hospital and told to give up. It is often considered a nuisance so the mother is told it's unnecessary
I am disgusted dislike that the op appears to see bf beyond 12 months as for the mothers indulgence, in such traumatic circumstances I should think it is the best way for the child to feel safe and connect to her mother.
I know knackered, im glad you disagreed with what they were doing. If it had been illegal drugs thats a different matter, but methadone prescribed by a doctor with no heroin use on top should, IMO, be treated the same as a mother on prescribed morphine.
Still waiting for OP to confirm if this is infact about Spain mother
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Have just read OP and skimmed through thread.
Mumsnetters - you're bloody fantastic. 
Where else could you post a comment like this and get such well informed and non-tabloidy responses?
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.