daycare worker sued for breastfeeding client's baby

[jasper]

Did anyone else hear this incredible news story ?
It was featured on Radio Scotland's teatime news bulletin tonight (must have been a slow news day)

What do you all think?

This is crazy! Only in America...

Strange story isn't it? Doesn't say whether baby was actually a breastfed one by it's own mum, which would have been interseting to know. In this day and age though, I can understand the mother being upset since breastmilk is a living fluid like blood, and you don't know what could have been passed to the baby from a stranger ie HIV. However, I don't think she should be jailed.
I remember many years ago a story about a B/F baby that wouldn't settle in the nursery in the hospital. The midwife on duty had returned to work and was B/F her own baby. She eventually fed it and the baby slept for the rest of the night! A sacking offence if it had ever been found out

I don't think the daycare worked should have fed the baby. Yes, breastfeeding is great but it wasn't her decision to make plus, as Mears says, there's the risk of HIV or other infections etc. I don't think she should be jailed either though.

I agree that the carer should NOT have breastfed the baby ... but I also think that prison is a bit harsh. I would be horrified if someone breastfed my baby without my knowing ... In fact it would really upset me and I would probably hit the roof ... I don't know why it would but it is one of those things where there is a line that one doesn't cross ... IYKWIM!!!
My mother tells a story of when she was in hospital after having me (her 4th child) ... in the days when mums stayed in hospital for 10 days. She was asked to feed another baby who was hungry but whose mother was still recovering from some complication from the birth and couldn't feed it herself. My mum was known in the hospital as she was a midwife there and had with previous babes donated excess milk ...
She did it ... breastfed the other baby ... she was happy to help ... but was relieved that the mother was soon able to do it herself as she said it was the strangest experience. Having fed her own 4 babies she said feeding someone else's felt bizarre and not right ....
Ho hum ... sorry for the long post!

Why should this be a crime? Did the daycare worker actually have HIV? Did the baby suffer any harm as a result? - it appears not. Of course she should not have breastfed the baby without the mother's consent but to criminalise the action in the absence of harm being caused? I think the article makes some very good points.

It is not long since it was the norm for women to breastfeed each others' babies and indeed that is how wet nurses earned their living. All that has changed is society's attitude to breastfeeding and unfortunately, the real risk of HIV.

I agree that the daycare worker should not have fed the baby but it is not an offence worthy of prison.

Smokey, I guess the point about wet nursing is that it would have been done with the mother's consent. This wasn't, which is what makes it wrong. Ignoring any health issues, it's not the feeding as such just the lack of consent.

My grandmother was a wet nurse which is where I probably get my breastfeeding enthusiasm from

Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Spookey - bit like 'The Hand that Rocks the Cradle' - scared me half to death and the very thought repulses me.

I (expecting an onslaught) thought it was a disgusting thing to do and would have hit the roof if anyone breastfed my daughter or even suggested doing so.

I think breastfeeding is a beautiful private thing that should only be done by the child's own mother and of course, as previously mentioned the risk of infection is brought into the equation. It made me shudder just to think about it - what an earth was this woman thinking of.

Wet nursing and donating milk I think are different to this - you chose to feed your baby someone elses milk and are aware of what is happening - the issue of the mother not being consulted beforehand is the thing that most alarms me. I am sure if I was asked whether I wanted my baby fed milk produced by someone else I would have to think seriously about it - although funnily enough I do not have any qualms about her guzzling on udder stuff (pardon the pun!!)

I don't think that the actual charge against the woman is correct, but I do think that she should some how be reprimanded.

I mean I would consider legal action against a hospital if they gave DD a blood transfusion without consent and they hadn't even screened that blood for diseases. If DD was ok then really it would be down to luck, and to me this is not a good enough reason to just let it go.

I agree not jail, but like I said I would not be willing to put the matter down to experience as I think it could set a dangerous precedent.

Am I over reacting?

There are two issues here, first the criminalising of what should be a civil offence - against which the author does argue his point well and I have to agree with him, and secondly the thought of someone else breasfeeding your baby. He doesn't seem to have fully understood the awfulness of that - but then he's a man. I don't have a problem with wet nursing, (I thought that story a while ago about the Spanish woman bf a starving refugees baby was lovely) but for somebody else to bf your child without your consent is terrible. I felt that bf was a special thing that dd and I had and would have hated for somebody else to muscle in on that.

Have changed my name for this, because I don't want any backlash.

I have fed my friend's baby and she mine, I have also fed my sister's baby. We all had babies at the same stage and none would take a bottle, so we'd happily leave our babies with each other and if the baby needed it, we would feed them. It only happened a few times, but none of us had a problem with it.

It was a little strange at first, but it was very comforting to have a satisfied baby rather than a screaming hungry one. I wouldn't have done it without the other person knowing though.

fedanotherbaby ... that is just it ... 'without the other knowing' ... I don't have a problem with the fact that you fed other babies ... it was an arrangement with the other mothers and that is fine. Wouldn't you be a bit cross if someone fed your baby without permission though??

Or if someone you didn't know fed your baby without your consent. I think I'd be ok about feeding another baby or having someone I knew well feed mine with my consent.

I don't think you would get any backlash at all fedanother baby. Consent and the babies mother being able to choose whether to share feeding with somebody else is the issue. Personally I don't think I would have liked anybody else to do it for me, but I was never in a situation where I had problems feeding my baby, or any close friends who were bf at teh same time as me

i am really in favour of breastfeeding and would actually be curious to know what it would be like to bf another child - however this action is hihly unprofessional. bfeeding is very intimate and a man had been this intimate with a child how would we all be feeling?

I am wondering more generally how other people view another woman bf someone else's child... for comfort of food. I am not talking about bf a child who'se mother might be against BF.... but I am genuienly womdering what is wrong with BF a baby from another woman...

Let's open the floor !

My view is that if the child's mother consents then there is not a problem. In my opinion, the only thing wrong with the case in the news is the lack of consent from the baby's mother.

I'm with abbysmum - the only thing wrong is lack of consent.

Ninja - I don't see how a man could get this 'intimate' with a baby. Men can't breastfeed and breastfeeding is not a sexual act. What sort of situation are you envisaging?

Sorry I dont agree with it if consent was not given.She should never work with children again IMO.You may think that is harsh but it is my opinion.
Fedanotherbaby-that was consentual between all of you and you were all quite happy with the situation.I dont see the problem there.

PIE- interesting thought about the blood issue, my DD was born premature at 31 weeks, we had told the consulant in charge that we did NOT want DD to have blood, she agreed, but one morning,just 3 weeks later, I went up to SCBU, walked into the nursery and she was gone......... I thought she had died......... was running around like a blue assed fly and was told she was in the high dependcy unit. I walked in and there she was, started to breast feed her, when the same consulant walked in, DD had scared them the previous evening (had stopped breathing for 2 mins) and needed to be near a o2 outlet. Then the bombshell came "we have given her a blood tranfusion:" I was so shocked by this news and cried. Looking at her notes, it appears that she stopped breathing at 5pm, they discovered she had low iron counts soon after, ordered the blood at 7pm, I phoned up at 11pm and wasn't imformed of the move, the lack of breathing or the blood, and the blood was given to her at 1am!!!!!!!!!!!
There is actually nothing we could do either.

good topic Pupuce.
I have fed all my kids donated breastmilk from two of my wonderful sisters in law.( we have babies the same age and all were breastfeeding at the same time)
Once I left my baby son ( about 3m I think) with my sil while I went for a haircut. When I returned she told me he had been fractious and she was just about to bf him herself when I got back!
I would not have minded in the least. It had never been discussed between us but we have a close bond and she rightly knew I would have been pleased for her to do that for my baby. In that sense you might say there was implied consent.
I have another friend whom I know would NOT be comfortable either feeding my baby or me feeding hers. We have never discussed it but I just know that is what she would think.

The article says that they'd tried feeding this child with a bottle & couldn't stop it crying. Perhaps this careworker didn't want the baby to become even more distressed?

I fed my friend's baby & she fed mine (we did discuss it first) because we used to mind each others baby for a morning when they were quite small. It didn't happen often, just if they wouldn't settle. It did feel odd because each baby has a different way of feeding, but neither baby seemed to mind (any port in a storm? )

I can see everyone's point about consent, but other than that I can't see she did anything wrong. It certainly shouldn't be a criminal matter.

Speaking from first hand experience, the woman should go to jail. It should be a criminal offense. I am sickened by this story. Just 9 months ago, the hospital took my baby to another woman by mistake who breastfed my baby. I STILL cry about it - I am still so angry at the hospital, but also at the woman who breastfed my baby for 17 minutes. She had a responsibility to make sure it was her baby. This will haunt me for the rest of my life - the other woman walks away happy. She should suffer like I am suffering, especially since she caused it. I definitly think it should be a criminal offense not only for the mental trauma to the mother of this baby but also for the potential illness this child could develope at anytime in the future. HIV is not the only concern.

MAMAOFFIVE - I am so sorry to hear about your experience. I can't imagine what that was like for you. You have every right to be upset and angry about this.