What is Digg?141 Comments
- sparkleyflowers, on 10/10/2007, -15/+67"Carter and I have been bonding for almost 15 months. Every meal that he takes has been from me," said Burton.
That's not healthy. The child should be eating whole foods by now. I don't see why it's so wrong to ask her to stop breastfeeding. Even if she doesn't lose custody of the child, there will be some sort of joint custody. The father should be able to have his child come to his home without having to worry about feeding the child breast milk.
Regardless... the child should have more to its diet than just breast milk at this point. It sounds to me like the mother doesn't want to ween the child for selfish reasons. She doesn't want to miss that closeness. The child is plenty old enough to be weened. Both of my children were weened from breast milk by 12 months old and put on solid food diets. They are/were both perfectly healthy. - Unknown1987, on 10/10/2007, -8/+31when they are old enough to ask for the boob they are too old
- FalseProphecy, on 10/10/2007, -6/+27"Every meal that he takes has been from me."
Unless she vomits food like a mother bird..... - sbader, on 10/10/2007, -1/+21There is something missing from this article, why would the same nurse practitioner say breastfeed and then when there is an investigation she says not to breastfeed, and why do they care about the nurse and not going straight to the original doctor? Are they just telling her to stop breastfeeding so the kid will be weened if the court decides to take it away from her? what the hell.
- holygram, on 10/10/2007, -1/+19Yeah, the courts did that same ***** to my mom when I was about 14.
- Jugalator, on 10/10/2007, -6/+21In case article goes down, this is why she can't:
"She takes Topomax to ease migraine headaches, Baclofin for muscle spasms because of a car accident and Ambien to help her sleep."
Since I don't know how these meds can potentially affect the child, I can't judge the situation, and to be honest, I really doubt that many other Diggers can eiter.
The article also says this:
"Carter Burton was born six weeks premature. Christa Burton said, her doctor told her that breastfeeding would be best for Carter."
So that's why she wants to. However, one needs to weigh the risks here. Can't she play it safer and by this time of 15 months feed the kid with a substitute?
Finally, this quote:
""I just think mothers everywhere need to fight for the right to breastfeed their children, because it can be taken away just like that"
Yes, but this is about the physical well being of the child. You don't want the kid affected by muscle spasm or heavy migraine medicine, now do you? This has absolutely nothing to do with a judge trying to "stop" women's rights to breastfeed kids out of being a jerk! - siszam, on 10/10/2007, -11/+26That was your kid and your choice. You can't dictate what other peoples choices should be. It's not your place.
- johndi, on 10/10/2007, -2/+15"Carter and I have been bonding for almost 15 months. Every meal that he takes has been from me," said Burton. That could be read in a couple different ways, but it strongly suggests the baby is only getting breast milk.
- Redrosie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13 Dr. Jack Newman wrote, "I think you are being railroaded by people who don't know what normal is for breastfeeding."
Dr Newman is a world renowned breastfeeding expert and has been studying and writing about the subject for decades. He knows more about breastfeeding and the issues surrounding it than the court, or the commenters here combined. If he thinks she's being railroaded, then she's being railroaded. No question. - KizardLing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11Then I'd suggest you read all of the article:
"Dr. Tom Hale, the author of "Medications and Mothers' Milk" e-mailed Burton, writing about the medications saying, "They are basically all fine, particularly in a 14-month-old infant who can metabolize drugs as good if not better than an adult."
Another expert, Dr. Jack Newman wrote, "I think you are being railroaded by people who don't know what normal is for breastfeeding.
"It's a tough call on some of these issues," according to Brian Ansberry, manager of the 7th District Court guardian ad litem program. He said his investigator was "not a medical expert herself" and "erring on the side of safety."
So on one hand, we have two experts saying it's perfectly safe. On the other hand, we have some tool without a clue saying he's interfering just because he thinks it could be bad. So for no legitimate reason, the mother's rights are being violated. - dainfagerholm, on 10/10/2007, -9/+19I have never understood the controversy about breastfeeding, apparently breasts should be used for everything BUT what they were designed for, namely that of nursing a child. Odd world we live in.
- Herostratos, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11The article said the kid had been born premature. Probably he is not as developed as his peers, hence he need to wait longer before being put on diet.
That said, mothers milk is the heatlhiest thing for kids. It is the result of literally millions of years of evolution. - arielrae, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9Actually the excretion of Ambien into breastmilk is less than 0.02% of a dose, very small. It hasn't been shown to create dependencies in breastfeeding children. It also has a very short half-life which means when it comes to sleeping, it lengthens your slow-wave sleep so that you will (hopefully) stay asleep. By the time it wears off, you should begin going into REM sleep. It doesn't actually disrupt REM sleep, but delays it due to the lengthening of slow-wave... so no you don't go insane if you take it every day.
- aukxsona, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11she should drop the drugs if she wants to breast feed. NONE of those are life threatening. I have asthma and I drop down to only an inhaler when I breast feed, ONLY because it IS life threatening not to.
- PrettyLadyGrace, on 10/10/2007, -9/+17Ambien is really serious. It messes up the dream cycle in your head so that you don't dream correctly, which, if taken every day will cause you to go insane. By breastfeeding the child, especially every meal, he is going to become dependent on it and serious problems could ensue. No wonder she was ordered to stop breastfeeding.
- silverchrysalis, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9weaned!!
- MelodySparks, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9"Every meal that he takes has been from me."
At 15 months?
Even as a woman, I'd have to say YIKES on that one. - KizardLing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6It is not unheard of for children as old as three to breastfeed, let alone a 15 month old. Nothing abnormal, let alone perverted, about it.
- KizardLing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6You left out the quotes where two medical experts (MDs, both) state that there is no risk. No risk, no reason the judge should be getting involved.
- CrimsonBlur, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Why is the judge relying on information from an investigator he specifically states is not a medical expert? Erring on the side of (what you believe to be) caution is not a very good excuse when you are talking about the well-being of a child. The investigator (and judge) is obviously in over his head on this one, because all of the actual experts in the field that have been contacted said the drugs would have no ill effects on the baby. In addition to that, the boy was born premature, so the "normal" time frame for breastfeeding and growth do not apply.
This is simply an example of the court trying to control how a mother raises her child without actually understanding the implications of what they are trying to enforce on any level. They are apparently assuming the mother is insisting on breast feeding for selfish reasons while ignoring the fact that she was specifically told to breastfeed, did her research, and found the drugs would not cause complications. Now personally I do not think she should be breastfeeding the child while taking the drugs, you just never know, but considering the medical experts are saying there is not problem with it, she should not be ordered by a court to stop. - tounchin, on 10/10/2007, -7/+12What a ***** dick. If all the medication is deemed safe, then WTF? I wish I was breastfed; then I wouldn't have bad teeth, asthma, and allergies.
- Scheissen, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6It sounds like the court just asked her to stop breastfeeding, not ordered her to stop.
- hockey, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5My only comment on this subject.
Although everyone is entitled to an opinion (and they are valid) I do find it odd that the people who are suggesting she stop breastfeeding and start weening are made mainly by people who don't have breasts to begin with. . . - Jugalator, on 10/10/2007, -5/+10"That's not healthy."
Even less healthy if that food is spiced with muscle spasm and migraine meds. I seriously don't see the controversy in the decision. - martalli, on 10/10/2007, -3/+8My wife's grandfather nursed until he was four or five (back in India). He was no "sissy" for it. Later on, he became a great hunter and fisherman. At one point, he even killed a tiger which attacked them while he and a nephew were hunting something smaller (deer I think). He could tie his own fishing nets, hunt, and ran several businesses. He still ties nets and gets around great at nearly 90 years old.
I would rank him up there as empirical evidence that you do not have to wean at 12 months. OTOH, other foods should start ebing introduced by then (earlier, even). - Jugalator, on 10/10/2007, -5/+9"it's not the court's place to tell a mother how to raise her child."
Even if she may indirectly feed the kid with stuff toxic to its body? Migraine meds and muscle spasm medicine doesn't sound like something I'd risk indirectly feed my 15 month child with. I think it's the judge's business as much as it's the judge's business to not have parents let their 10 year olds drink alcohol. This is a health issue, not a "women's rights to breastfeed" issue. - Amusing, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The fact that the child was premature alone will put them developmentally behind for about the first 2yrs of life, maybe more depending on how early the baby was.
http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/ncare/0,,rf81,00.html - sappari, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Glad someone got to it before I did. The OP is a prime example of the root of the problem. She, like the father and guardian ad litem, are being overly concerned with things they know nothing about. Sure, Ambien is a psychoactive compound but how listening to guy with actual knowledge of drug metabolism: the doctor.
- orangester, on 10/10/2007, -6/+10As much as I think the child should start developing a diet that doesn't include breast milk at the same time it's not the court's place to tell a mother how to raise her child.
- george@CASE, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4a nurse practitioner is different from a nurse. A nurse practitioner, as the name indicates, is a nurse that has received additional training to practice, in this case, well-child/pediatric care alongside pediatricians.
- kooft, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4In custody battles with infants, or other young children, the court will usually appoint a guardian ad litem to look after the interests of the child. The guardian ad litem in this case noted that there were developmental delays in the child and that some of the drugs the mother is on can cause developmental delays. Store bought formula was probably deemed safer than breast milk with 3 different drugs. She's just erring on the safe side, and let's face it, it's the future well being of this child we're talking about.
- fortressgame, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5"Ambien is really serious. It messes up the dream cycle in your head so that you don't dream correctly, which, if taken every day will cause you to go insane."
Wow, talk about making ***** up. Do you have evidence that taking it every night will make you go insane? - notque, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3If you presume to tell me that what is socially acceptable is some how divinely right, then you're biased, and wrong.
- stotty, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6drug addict mother? These are prescribed medicines and you sir are a tard.
- maffiou, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Yaeh, and in 15 years, she'll sue everybody because these drugs were bad after all...
I think the nurse encouraged breast feeding initially, because the benefits were greater than the risks, now the kids can go on solids, why contiune taking the risk... - george@CASE, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6I don't see anything wrong with a child who still gets breastmilk at 15 months. Like they say, breastmilk is a complete meal, it's not less nutritious than solid foods. As long as the child is not losing weight, etc.
- malman4, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3a fifteen-month old is not newly born...........
- martalli, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Well, I don't know if they mentioned why she is on Topamax, but since it is a seizure medicine, I might guess it might be life threatening for her to stop taking it.
- danielgary, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I know this is a new concept, but Digg features a reply link right below the comment you want to reply to. You should check it out sometime. It's pretty exciting.
- enicholas, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4He was only born six weeks premature -- while that carries risks and is no fun for anyone, it's generally not in "child is still showing the effects of it a year later" territory.
As the father of two preemies and uncle of a third, I've got quite a bit of experience in this area. And except in extreme cases, by a few months old they're generally indistinguishable from full-term babies.
Most babies start eating solid foods around six months old. Developmental delays might push that back a couple of months. The article did say "delays", not "the child is profoundly retarded", so there is simply no way that he shouldn't be eating solid foods at 15 months old. At 15 months old my older son was eating table food three meals a day, and as I said he was a preemie too. (My younger son is only a month old so I have no data there yet.) - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6great mix babies and prescription sleep aids - this woman should have her baby taken away like they do with crack addicts
http://www.askdocweb.com/ambien.html
"During longer-term treatment (28 to 35 nights) in controlled clinical trials at doses less than 10 mg, the most commonly observed adverse events associated with the use of Ambien and seen at statistically significant differences from placebo-treated patients were dizziness (5%) and drugged feelings (3%)."
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/1428.html
"Most newborns sleep 16 to 18 hours a day, but unfortunately, they tend to sleep in two- to three-hour increments, even at night." - hey being passed out cold is a great way to take care of a baby right? - Hayaemsay, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5RTFA?
- ultraJesus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I read it as "15 year". I leave disappointed.
- martalli, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I wouldn't split hairs about delays and profoundly retarded. If there is no intervention, many children with delays would end up permanently behind to some degree or another. "Profoundly retarded" is a fairly charged phrase and probably used very little by the medical community anymore. The article does not explain the delays whatsoever, and so one cannot really say much about it. My kids hardly talked until 18-24 months, and yet the two oldest are chatterboxes now. In our case, we speak 3 languages at home (English, Kannada, and Tamil). A slow uptake on expressive language skills is normal in our situation, but a newspaper might still run an article about our kids' "developmental delays". Who really knows what is going on with this particular little boy, and to what degree.
- sarazen, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The reason that Breastfeeding advocates have to fight so hard is BECAUSE there are so many powerful companies making lots of money off formula. Nobody makes a dime when a woman breastfeeds so there is no great funding pool of money to get the message out. And it shows in the rates of breastfeeding here in the US and in GB. Despite recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, WHO, and other groups that babies should be breastfeed until 1 year or longer we have only about 20% getting breastmilk beyond about 2 months. Sure there are some individuals who have gone too far in their desire to get the message out, but check out the stats, despite all the benefits to mother and baby, despite the fact that it produces less waste to the environment, heck, despite the fact that it is FREE, the vast majority of babies in the US and GB are only breastfed for a few months if at all. It is sad really.
- ronaldinho, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The nurse practitioner is screwing around with this case with her U-turn. I can't wait for the moment when she tells the court that breast-feeding is good again, not bad for the kid
- GGoldberry, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I breastfed both of my children. But during that time, I refused to take any drugs, even Advil or caffeine. I think you make those sacra fices for your children. Sometimes the danger in drugs in not seen until much later, and a child should never be a guinea pig to what is OK in breastfeeding.
Also I think that child should be eating whole foods and drinking pumped breast milk from a sippy cup. - jerem747, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2breast feeding is shown to pass much needed antibodies from the mother that she has aquired over the course of her life. this helps the baby develope a healthy immune system which does help prevent allergies and also makes the baby less prone to infection. and if studies have deemed the meds safe than what is the big ***** deal? courts shouldn't make decisions for mothers (unless they are way out of line) and this mother is doing everything right 15 months of breast feeding is not unusual and is more a parental preference than an "unhealthy choice". the baby is probably better off drinking breast milk than eating processed baby food. why does everyone try to tell people how to live their lives? do people not have enough problems of their own that they need to try and solve other peoples problems? sometimes you people need to take into account that you dont know the whole story.
thank you and good night - martalli, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You will not go insane if you take Ambien every day. However, if you give up on the Ambien, you will eventually fall asleep. Most people feel a need for sleep meds because of their own bad sleep habits or expectations.
- TypeEE, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Sometimes you got to evaluate trade offs. Breast feeding can't be better off than formula when other drugs are involved.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 141 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is