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Home › Articles › Overcoming Difficulties › Divorce's Impact on Breastfeeding

Divorce's Impact on Breastfeeding

How the Legal System Impacts Breastfeeding

By Jenn Director Knudsen

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The La Leche League and many states' courts advocate for gradual visitation arrangements. These "short, frequent visits" for perhaps four to six hours at a time are best for a young baby, his mother and his father, Lofton says.

As nursing sessions become fewer and farther between and as babies age into older toddlers, visitation times can increase.

In the end, an individual judge may consider state and county guidelines very "discretionary," says Sharon Williams, a partner with Sorensen-Jolink, Trubo, Williams, McIlhenny & Williams, LLP in Portland, Ore.

Dealing With Divorce-How the Legal System Impacts Breastfeeding"I think that judges deal with that on a case-by-case basis," she says of cases involving nursing and divorce issues.

Some judges are receptive to the desires of a nursing mother. Others, upon hearing testimony, may believe the mother is using the nursing relationship to keep her ex-husband away from her child. And still others may consider issues of bonding first, breastfeeding second.

"[Most judges like] to do whatever they can to set up a schedule so that the child can bond with both parents," Williams says.

Pam Haan, a staff attorney at Legal Aid Services of Oregon also in Portland, says judges are more likely to push weaning for the dad's sake.

Parents of a nursing child caught in the middle of a divorce face huge challenges. Ultimately, though, it seems the child's interests should be at the forefront.

Before her untimely death, Baldwin eloquently put into words the importance of preserving the nursing relationship. "When a child is lucky enough to be breastfed, the courts should take steps to protect that relationship and encourage it," she wrote. "Dependency needs do not last forever ... It is important that the child's needs will be protected by everyone involved."

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