Author Topic: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate  (Read 2371 times)

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Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« on: July 09, 2009, 08:45:49 PM »
What's the debate??

Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate

By JAMES MacPHERSON – 3 days ago



BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Police responding to a domestic disturbance arrived at Stacey Anvarinia's home to find the mother breast-feeding her 6-week-old baby in front of them. And she was drunk, they said.

Officers arrested the woman, who later pleaded guilty to child neglect and faces up to five years in prison. Now her case has touched off a debate among moms about breast-feeding, alcohol — and privacy.

Since Anvarinia's arrest, blogs have been abuzz with comments questioning whether breast-feeding mothers could risk criminal charges if they drink even modest amounts. Authorities insist police were right to make the arrest, even if the mother had not been breast-feeding, out of concern for the child's welfare.

"Since when is breast-feeding while drunk a crime?" said Dr. Amy Tuteur, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist in Boston who has been following the case on her Web site, the Skeptical OB.

If the 26-year-old woman had been bottle-feeding her baby, "no one would have bothered to check what was in the bottle," Tuteur said. "You can do a lot more damage by mixing formula wrong."

Medical research on alcohol and breast-feeding is murky, mainly because the issue is difficult to study. Researchers cannot ethically conduct controlled research on intoxicated women who breast-feed. So doctors rely on anecdotal evidence.

The breast-feeding advocacy group La Leche League International advises women to nurse their children only when "completely sober."

In published advice to mothers, the group says: "Drinking to the point of intoxication, or binge drinking, by breast-feeding mothers has not been adequately studied. Since all of the risks are not understood, drinking to the point of intoxication is not advised."

The American Academy of Pediatrics says excessive alcohol consumption by a breast-feeding mother can lead to drowsiness, deep sleep, weakness and abnormal weight gain in an infant.

Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, who helps oversee breast-feeding policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the group considers limited alcohol consumption compatible with breast-feeding.

"A mother who becomes intoxicated should not breast-feed," said Winter, who also heads the division of adolescent medicine at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J. "After drinking one glass of wine, a woman should abstain from breast-feeding for two to three hours."

La Leche, which knew of no similar cases to Anvarinia's, says the effect on a baby is directly related to how much the mother drinks.

In general, "Feed the baby first, and then wait until it leaves your bloodstream," McCallister said.

The group says it takes up to three hours for one serving of beer or wine to be eliminated from the body of a 120-pound woman.

Melissa Peat, a mother of three in Topeka, Kan., said she has had an "occasional beer or glass of wine" while breast-feeding. Peat said the topic of alcohol and breast milk comes up in conversations with other mothers.

"The conventional wisdom among breast-feeding mothers is that alcohol, coffee, spicy food — everything in moderation is acceptable for the breast-feeding mom," said Peat, 32, a former high school math and science teacher who now is a stay-at-home mom.

Arrests involving intoxicated breast-feeding mothers have been difficult to prosecute.

The city of Bethel, Alaska, paid two women $2,500 apiece in 1992 to settle a lawsuit they filed over their arrest on charges of endangering their children by drinking alcohol before breast-feeding. The women had been charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment in 1990, but prosecutors later dropped the charges, saying no crime had been committed.

It's unclear how much Anavarina had to drink. Police never conducted a blood-alcohol test. Investigators believed she was drunk, and her arrest on a charge of child abuse and neglect did not require a test.

"The majority of our problems are caused by alcohol," said Grand Forks Police Capt. Kerwin Kjelstrom. "Our officers handle it so much that it is pretty much a general knowledge thing to know when someone is intoxicated. It's pretty obvious."

When police came to the home on April 13, Anvarinia, who had a criminal record, told them that she had been assaulted by her boyfriend. A police report said she had swelling on her nose and chin and a small scratch on her left cheek.

The boyfriend was not home and has not been charged, and authorities have not said who has custody of the child. Anvarinia's court-appointed attorney, David Ogren, did not return repeated telephone calls.

Authorities insist the woman's decision to breast-feed was not the only factor in her arrest.

"This case is more than just the breast-feeding. It was the totality of the circumstances," said Grand Forks Police Lt. Rahn Farder. "It is quite unusual for a mother to be breast-feeding her child as we are conducting an investigation, whether she was intoxicated or not."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jF9hXfG8AJc-7hYd7BPFOuL7JZGgD99959FG0

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2009, 09:21:58 PM »
It's wrong what she's doing... but. FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR IT?

I mean, you can steal a car, enjoy a police chase, and wrap it around a telephone pole and still get less than 5 years in prison.

She sounds like a piece of work, garbage mom all the way, certainly needs a nice boot in the ass.  But missing 1/3 of her child's life?  If a mom has 1 glass of wine and breast feeds, does she deserve 1,825 days in prison?

Hugo Chavez

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2009, 09:42:49 PM »
Alcholol passes into the breast milk.  You can have 1 drink after breastfeeding but not before.  You cannot be drunk while breastfeeding.  It needs time to dissipate from the system.  Being drunk while breastfeeding is the same as giving a baby alcohol.  Not cool.  I call that clear child abuse if she was drunk.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2009, 09:45:55 PM »
It's wrong what she's doing... but. FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR IT?

I mean, you can steal a car, enjoy a police chase, and wrap it around a telephone pole and still get less than 5 years in prison.

She sounds like a piece of work, garbage mom all the way, certainly needs a nice boot in the ass.  But missing 1/3 of her child's life?  If a mom has 1 glass of wine and breast feeds, does she deserve 1,825 days in prison?
yea, this is what's wrong with our justice system, they can't tell the difference between a hard criminal who commits a violent offense and a person who needs help.  The only thing this lady needs is help.  put her on probation at the most, madate some rehab if she's an alcoholic.  Taking her away from the baby is just making matters worse for all involved.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2009, 09:52:42 PM »
yea, this is what's wrong with our justice system, they can't tell the difference between a hard criminal who commits a violent offense and a person who needs help.  The only thing this lady needs is help.  put her on probation at the most, madate some rehab if she's an alcoholic.  Taking her away from the baby is just making matters worse for all involved.

personally, if my wife was wasted, feeding my kid... she'd be the one calling the police form the ass-kicking I'd be handing out :)

Definitely child abuse... but 5 YEARS in prison?  They should have VERY clear laws for blood alcohol content for breast-feeding on the books.  Just for times like this, with this idiot.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2009, 09:57:19 PM »
Breast feeding while drunk is no different than putting liquor in a baby's bottle.  She deserves 5 years behind bars.

They might even consider making her sterile. 

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #6 on: July 09, 2009, 09:58:12 PM »
Breast feeding while drunk is no different than putting liquor in a baby's bottle.  She deserves 5 years behind bars.

They might even consider making her sterile. 

So what level of alcohol consumption should be the cutoff?  .8, as with DUI?


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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #7 on: July 09, 2009, 09:59:37 PM »
Breast feeding while drunk is no different than putting liquor in a baby's bottle.  She deserves 5 years behind bars.

They might even consider making her sterile. 

Exactly.  Separating a "mother" from her child in this instance isn't necessarily a bad thing.  

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2009, 10:00:48 PM »
So what level of alcohol consumption should be the cutoff?  .8, as with DUI?



Probably a lot less, because we are talking about a baby here not an adult.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2009, 10:02:30 PM »
Probably a lot less, because we are talking about a baby here not an adult.

I'm with you.  I just wonder where 1 glass = fine, 2 glass = 5 years in prison.

Don't get me wrong, I'd kick this POS down a flight of steps if I caught her breast-feeding buzzed.  Just curious what the cutoff would be.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #10 on: July 09, 2009, 10:03:20 PM »
Cut off?  For what?  How much alcohol can you put in a baby's bottle?

Hugo Chavez

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #11 on: July 09, 2009, 10:03:31 PM »
personally, if my wife was wasted, feeding my kid... she'd be the one calling the police form the ass-kicking I'd be handing out :)

Definitely child abuse... but 5 YEARS in prison?  They should have VERY clear laws for blood alcohol content for breast-feeding on the books.  Just for times like this, with this idiot.
I can't even go with that hypothetical :D  My wife drinks 1/3 to half a beer and calls it quits lol...  She likes the taste so I buy her a six pack but she's can't drink much... Only problem, I end up drinking my beer then the rest of her beer and she only gets a taste out the beer she picked ;D  You can drink while breastfeeding.  I actually did quite a bit of research on it a few months back just because I was researching the hell out of everything to do with having a kid.  Being drunk, no, they just advise no more than one drink after you're done breastfeeding then it's out of your system by the next time you have to feed next.  This woman in the story just needs help, not prison.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #12 on: July 09, 2009, 10:03:41 PM »
Exactly.  Separating a "mother" from her child in this instance isn't necessarily a bad thing.  

I agree.  You have to be a permanently stupid person to do something like that.  This is not about the mother's rights.  It's about the baby's rights.

If this lady couldn't figure out that its very bad to breast feed drunk, than she's certainly an unfit mother.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #13 on: July 09, 2009, 10:04:49 PM »
Cut off?  For what?  How much alcohol can you put in a baby's bottle?
none.  You can't give a baby alcohol.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #14 on: July 09, 2009, 10:05:35 PM »
I'm with you.  I just wonder where 1 glass = fine, 2 glass = 5 years in prison.

Don't get me wrong, I'd kick this POS down a flight of steps if I caught her breast-feeding buzzed.  Just curious what the cutoff would be.

I donno, what would feeding 1 glass of wine to a baby be like?  A mother with any sense, wouldn't drink anything that could potentially harm the development of their baby's brain.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #15 on: July 09, 2009, 10:06:20 PM »
Breast feeding while drunk is no different than putting liquor in a baby's bottle.  She deserves 5 years behind bars.

They might even consider making her sterile. 
I think help would be better, with probation.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #16 on: July 09, 2009, 10:09:04 PM »
I donno, what would feeding 1 glass of wine to a baby be like?  A mother with any sense, wouldn't drink anything that could potentially harm the development of their baby's brain.
For the mother to do that, she would have to have had something like 10 glasses of wine or maybe more.  That's like over 2 bottles.  A glass of wine for a baby could be deadly.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #17 on: July 09, 2009, 10:12:10 PM »
I think help would be better, with probation.

Perhaps you are right.  I donno.  But anyone who would get drunk and breast feed is mentally unfit to parent. 

For the mother to do that, she would have to have had something like 10 glasses of wine or maybe more.  That's like over 2 bottles.  A glass of wine for a baby could be deadly.

Any amount of alcohol to a developing brain can be dangerous. 

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #18 on: July 09, 2009, 10:12:24 PM »
I donno, what would feeding 1 glass of wine to a baby be like?  A mother with any sense, wouldn't drink anything that could potentially harm the development of their baby's brain.

I agree there should be zero.

My Q is... do you guys advocate a zero-tolerance law?  One sip = 5 years in prison?

It not, then what should the cutoff be?  .2 BAC?  .4?

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #19 on: July 09, 2009, 10:13:12 PM »
none.  You can't give a baby alcohol.

Right.  No difference between alcohol in a bottle and alcohol in breast milk.  

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #20 on: July 09, 2009, 10:15:52 PM »
And if you have a zero-tolerance policy... what kind of timing to use?

If a woman has a beer at 12 noon and breast feeds at 7 pm... does she get 5 years in prison?


If not, what kind of clock do you use?  6 hours?  5?  2?

it's easy to say idiots who drink belong in jail.  it's tougher to assign numbers/rubric to it.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #21 on: July 09, 2009, 10:16:12 PM »
I agree there should be zero.

My Q is... do you guys advocate a zero-tolerance law?  One sip = 5 years in prison?

It not, then what should the cutoff be?  .2 BAC?  .4?

I don't know in this case.  Initially, outrage fuels my opinion.  I am a big advocate of the 3 strikes law.


Thinking about it, this lady deliberately got her self drunk and then breast fed.  So, in my mind, she should get serious time.  However, we also should think about the child.  

Is the child better off with or without her?  Can she rehabilitate?  If so, how long would it take?

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #22 on: July 09, 2009, 10:18:26 PM »
Initially, outrage fuels my opinion.

Hi, Obama Voter.

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #23 on: July 09, 2009, 10:20:08 PM »
Hi, Obama Voter.

Ha Ha.  Bush voter. 

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Re: Drunken breast-feeding arrest touches off debate
« Reply #24 on: July 09, 2009, 10:20:23 PM »
This ain't rocket science.  Don't drink while breast feeding.  Hard to enforce because much of may take place in the home, but it's also difficult to enforce laws prohibiting putting alcohol in a baby's bottle when it's done at home too.