Oh, look, YET ANOTHER breastfeeding baby seperated from her mother...ffs...

[theUrbanNixie]

In this instance, at least the baby has been returned to her mother. But she was given formula for the 4 weeks they were apart and the mother was given no lactation advice.

Read the full story here

also - the conditions at Yarl's Wood are not ideal for formula feeding babies either.

From the blog:

"Yarl's Wood make the formula centrally and hand it out. The mothers then carry it around the family unit, keeping it in their rooms, until it is all used up and they ask for more. No-one has informed them of the risks of contaminated formula. They cannot see if the formula has been made with the correct temperature of water to kill off bacteria in the powder. They cannot keep the milk cool in their rooms whilst they wait for baby to be hungry and need another feed. They are not told they must throw the milk away after an hour, and ask for a fresh batch to be made up.

They have no choice on how it is prepared."

Stais86, think Dungavel. Yarl's Wood is essentially the same kind of place.

Thanks Nixie, MsHighwater am absolutely cluelesS on these things or perhps ignorant? either way I wasn't aware that here were detention centres here! Think it is shocking tat children are kept in these kind of places and also some adults! No racism intended here but perhaps some of these people would be better off back home where they came from assurely they would be treated better! I understand now what the problem is,a new mother should be helped as much as possible especially with BF although my DS was bottlefed I can imagine how hard it must be to do alone.

Stais - most of these women have come to the UK fleeing rape, torture, war, poverty. Many come as orphans and unaccompanied minors.

Asylum seeker is not the same as illegal immigrant and some people can't make the distinction! (not making a dig at you btw - was just trying to be clear)

Also, even if the mums at Yarl's Wood want to ff, the milk is not made up to UNICEF guidelines and without wishing to sound melodramatic, unsafe infant formula could genuinely kill a baby, especially an underweight, traumatised infant like Tracy.

Nixie, didn't think you were having a dig there, I know the difference but the sad part is a lot of people can't make the distinction nowadays because so many people use it as an excuse. But that's a different story. I thought these places would have some sort of regulations in place for FF babies. Does anyone know how Tracy and Glory are doing now?

Tracey is understandably traumatised. She has lost weight while in foster care and no longer opens her mouth wide enough to take a breast. She was not given a bottle teat suitable for a breastfeeding infant (ie i believe the Tommee Tippee Closer To Nature teats are better to give a breastfeeding infant as the shape is closer to a breast than a classic cherry teat) nor was she cup-fed. Consequently, she has "forgotten" how to nurse at the breast.

Glory needs support and proper advice to re-lactate. She is worried about her baby and probably terrified about what the future will hold for them.

Don't forget - this is not a normal breastfeeding/formula issue. If this were you or I, the real pressing need to breastfeed would probably not be a matter of life or death. If Tracey ends up not going back to the breast there is a real risk she may die as a direct result of contaminated formula. The bottles are kept at room temp - ideal breeding ground for bacteria. Breastmilk is sterile and available on tap.

Please, if you can donate to the Black Women's Rape Action group, do. £5 could make a real difference to them. Write to your MP. And most of all - Spread the word. Too many people are in ignorance of the true horror that these places represent to children and families. Tell them. Direct them here or to the blog. It will help.

come on let the power of mn work again

really shocking - how brave the mum must have been to cope with not having her baby with her.

she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter cups...

absolutely shocking on all sorts of levels.

well put urban - is there a right to bf? if not what could be done to make it a right?

Glory and Tracey Anawa are being removed from Yarl's Wood tomorrow morning. She was given this information this afternoon, at 5 o clock.

This is wrong on at least 2 levels:

-- There needs to be 48 hours' notice before an immigration. The officers at Yarl's Wood also attempted to prevent Glory from going back to her room to get her phone so she could phone people and tell her what was happening.

-- If Glory is deported back to the Cameroon (her country of origin) then there is a real chance her baby girl will be circumcised. Glory would do anything to prevent that from happening.

I don't know what to do. Yarl's Wood are claiming she was given lactation support and shown how to use the breast pump which is upsetting Glory greatly as she knows that this isn't true.

I'm not posting this to make you do something. I'm just keeping people informed because I've put it in my LiveJournal but more people read this and it needs to be known, what's happening.

CupsofTea - to answer your question:

Of course there is a "right" to breastfeed. There is nothing preventing women at Yarl's Wood from breastfeeding their babies. The issue is that when babies are removed (and this goes for the removal of all bf-ing infants, not just those of asylum seekers) they are not given the special consideration they require, nor are the mothers given adequate lactation support.

What needs to happen is that people within the organisation need to be made aware of the special help that bf-ing mothers and infants need. If you want to help that happen, try emailing Baby Milk Action, your local MP, or give me a shout about Nursing Matters

oh god - i'm so tired!

"There needs to be 48 hours' notice before a deportation."

My apologies...

Any news of Glory and Tracy this morning? Is there any way of stopping the deportation?

i haven't heard anything this morning Squonk. It's in the hands of people much more qualified and experienced than me now!!

well... fwiw, I'll be thinking of them.

Hi, having been watching this with interest and sadness. Have emailed the link to all i know in the hope that people power has some effect. Can't believe our country treats people this way .Just wondered if there was any news of Glory and Tracy yet?

Am utterly horrified by this. Will do what I can re writing to MPs etc. It's not much but let's hope every little helps.

Hey Nixie, I was on a here a few weeks ago (stais86) so shocked to hear that Glory and Tracy are being released tomorrow. I'm assuming by the tone of the post that they are not being freed but are being deported?!? Am so ashamed that we as a country let those who don't deserve to be here stay but others like Glory they are sent away to accomadate the others! Is there any news yet? I know everyone's asking that but...

Glory came over to the UK because she wanted help from the Cameroonian community here. She knows that a baby born out of wedlock will be circumcised by the mother's family. Prior to coming to the UK she was a student in Finland. She is currently claiming asylum there but there is no real asylum case to answer, so it's likely she'll be deported back to the Cameroon.

There is a ceremony which can be performed with the baby's umbilical cord, which Glory needs to send back to her family. This is why she came to the UK to have her baby, so she could then get help from the Cameroonian community to send the cord back to her family and prevent Tracy being circumcised by them in the (quite likely) event that she is deported back.

Yarl's Wood have refused to hand back Tracy's umbilical cord to Glory. As far as I know she has been deported back to Finland without it.

This is a larger issue than just the breastfeeding, although this is where I'm involved. There are immigration issues, human rights issues, and issues about how female genital mutilation can still be a large part of life in a "civilised" world.

That is bloody shocking! That poor woman must be terrified for her daughter. I saw a program about female circumcision once and there was a school for little girls who'd had it done and were all in pain after a few years. The thing about the umbilical cord is horrid too surely that is the mothers basic right to have it. Nixie you are right this is a human rights case Glory and Tracy have been treated terribly by this country in which she was trying to protect her baby. Something defo needs to be done about this and many other cases like it. But where do we start...