In August, 2005, a lactating mother is alleged to have used cocaine. The prosecuting attorneys say that the cocaine was excreted in her breast milk, and her 5-month-old girl subsequently died. The mother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The case is being prosecuted in Ogemaw County, Michegan.
It took eight months for charges to be filed, because
The initial cause of death was believed to be sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.
The county's medical examiner forwarded some of the infant's blood to a laboratory for routine analysis. Since no foul play was suspected, the samples weren't tested until recently, Williams said.
Williams said he could not say how much cocaine was detected in the infant's blood. But he was told by an expert that any amount of the drug can be fatal to a baby.
''It's our expert's opinion that that was the cause of death. There was cocaine in the baby's system,'' Williams said.
The mother was arrested on April 19, 2006. Probate court records in a case involving the mother's other child shows the woman admitted to using cocaine during the time she breastfed the baby.
If a breastfeeding mother uses cocaine, how will that affect her infant?
Cocaine in any dosage affects an adult's ability to safely care for an infant or child, no matter what feeding method is used. It will affect the mother's level of consciousness and related levels of awareness, reaction time, etc. Cocaine use during breastfeeding is NEVER safe in any amount. Women who use cocaine regularly should not breastfeed, as it would be almost impossible to avoid infant exposure. Cocaine readily passes into breast milk and is absorbed into an infant's intestinal tract. Infant cocaine exposure is related to increased (dangerous) heart rate, increased blood pressure, extreme irritability, agitation, increased startle reflex, choking and vomiting. Cocaine is slowly metabolized and a breastfed infant's urine can test positive for cocaine for days after exposure.
If a woman uses cocaine once during the time she is lactating, the recommendation for breastfeeding is to "pump and dump" the breast milk for 36-48 hours after cocaine use before resuming breastfeeding. In the interim, the baby could be fed either drug-free expressed breast milk (obtained and stored properly prior to cocaine use) or an artificial formula.
i personally think that mom who drink, do drugs, and smoke while pregnant and brestfeeding should and will be presocuted. It is not only hurting themselves but hurting there baby too you know. If they wanted to hurt their baby they should'nt have had one because they are killing an inoccent life that havent done anything to them except reporduce in there body.
Posted by: Briana Fine | Tuesday, March 13, 2007 at 09:27 AM