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Expert Q&A
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| By Ann Calandro BSN, RNC, IBCLC Lactation Consultant | ||
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I am pregnant and about to give birth to my second child. I have had several health problems during my pregnancy, and my baby will be underweight. Because of the problems I have had, I have decided to breastfeed to give my child the extra advantages to protect his health.
My question is that the biological father of my child abandoned me during my first two months of pregnancy and has recently called to inform me that he plans on filing for visitation rights as soon as the baby is born – even though he has until this point denied the child. I am wondering how that will affect my breastfeeding rights.
I breastfed my first child, and at first I could hardly get any milk to pump enough for a bottle. When I could, he would only nurse from my breast. I am worried that this will happen again. Can a judge order me to express milk for visits? What if I cannot express milk? How would my rights to breastfeed my newborn come into consideration when visitation rights are ordered?
Call the La Leche League in your area and ask the local leader to put you in touch with the Illinois Area Professional Liaison Leader. She will have information about legal rights of breastfeeding mothers for you. There is a good bit of information on the LLL Web site, as well.
The important thing in this situation is in agreeing that fathers do have rights and that babies and fathers need to develop a relationship if he is a stable and non-abusive man. Meet to talk to him and discuss that the baby will need to be with Mom in the early months, except for short visits from Dad. As the baby grows older, the visits can be extended to include more and more time. It serves everyone best to communicate about this and to realize that a solution can be worked out to make everyone happy – but the welfare of the baby comes first."
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