Have you heard about the mother and daughter separated in Spain - please sign this petition.

[sophiechristophy]

http://www.change.org/petitions/worldwide-mothers-support-habiba-immf-give-her-baby-back

[mima08]

not sure if bumping is allowed, but the story made me cry...

[sophiechristophy]

I know mima08, it is absolutely tragic isn't it. So sad.

[apenn]

Signed and shared on FB. Outrageous. I hope Alma and her mother are reunited immediatly.

[bluesuperted]

Words fail me on this, I hope as many forumites as possible sign this petition. The thought of it makes me feel sick.

[Curly]

'The IMMF stated that the child was taken because her mother was mentally unstable and unable to care for her daughter, but medical professionals have evaluated Habiba and found her to be in perfect psychological health.

Members of the Breastfeeding Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics have reviewed the situation, acknowledged the healthy relationship between mother and baby, and suggested that the separation will have dire psychological consequences for both. They have asked that Alma be returned to her mother.

On June 16, 2011, Habiba was allowed to visit with her child temporarily. It was reported that while they were together, Alma tried to nurse?which is comforting for both mother and baby, and recommended by the World Health Organization for the health of children up to two years old and beyond, as long as it is mutually desired by both mother and child?and was emphatically prevented from doing so by a supervisor'

http://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/06/17/a-mothers-nightmare-spanish-government-takes-away-rights-of-a-mother/

[bluesuperted]

I just don't understand how this could happen. It terrifies me as the so-called 'chaotic' patenting style that appears to be under criticism is my own. What is it about extended breastfeeding, BLW and cosleeping that has angered the authorities in this way? I'm stumped.

[sanity girl]

Have just read this and signed the petition. Makes me feel sick to the stomach. Hope as many others as possible will also read and sign!

[Saffron]

http://theotherbabybook.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/is-habiba-a-hoax/

(excerpt below)

"I?ll admit ? it seems almost too hard to believe. That major news stations are not picking the story up only adds to the skepticism. It also adds to the tragedy. CNN.com has completely ignored the issue, and today?s feature articles are on cole slaw, the top ten most expensive housing markets, and Hugh Hefner?s fiance. I can?t tell you for sure why they think Playboy bunnies are more newsworthy than the oppression of an Attachment Parenting mother, but I have a pretty good guess: their bottom line."

Does anyone know how to contact the BBC to ask them to investigate and broadcast this story? After all isn't that what we pay our license fees for?!?

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Absolutely uttering shocking especially as it could easily be my son since we co sleep , he is 21 months and still breastfed due to allergies , It's shocking.

[bluesuperted]

Surely there's a forumite who is also a journalist or knows one?

Totally agree it's shocking how little coverage this is receiving outside of social media...

[mima08]

hope the link works?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FDCuOChOCj_EbeeoLKXC8pT6VdJ8tk8Qg4KPJMRo1II/mobilebasic?

various ways to try & help

[buggie]

Guardian Report

Find final few paragraphs suggest there may be far more to this than has been reported.

[Otta]

It does sound terrible when it's presented in the way it has been, but I can't believe that it's quite as simple as the petition is suggesting. A panel of social services professionals are not going to take a child away from it's mother because of breast feeding, I just can't believe that.

[Moos]

Not a great surprise, is it? Why idiot celebrities and campaigners have to jump on these bandwagons wihout finding out all the facts is beyond me. Madrid authorities insist thst they do support breastfeeding but the mother has an ongoing relationship with a violent father, neglects the baby, doesn't wash her... all sound like much more likely grounds to me. "Baby Dies Of Neglect After Spanish Authorities Fail To Act", anyone?

Edited for various typos

[sophiechristophy]

I am sure there is more to the story than has been briefly summarised up until now, however unless the mother presented a real danger to the child, can it be justified to remove the child from her and allow such limited contact? This can not surely be in the child's best interests.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

If you read the blogs and the letters from the doctors etc you will find that the Guardian is in fact incorrect

http://www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWeAreAllHabiba%3Fsk%3Dinfo%23%21%2FWeAreAllHabiba%3Fsk%3Dwall&width=230&colorscheme=dark&show_faces=true&border_color&stream=true&header=true&height=427

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

The centre is known to force mothers to give up breastfeeding and even make them take drugs to dry up their milk. The kids are also put up for adoption. There is a lot more information and their terrible practises coming to light. That Guardian article was put up with no supporting evidence BEFORE the doctors and other reports came out. It is sound that the mother is in complete sound health and that the centre lied. You can get all this information and more on the offical site.

[Moos]

sophy, think you raise a really good question - how do you draw the line, and on what grounds. I'd be interested to see what evidence is available - a copy of the report for eg.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Moos, there is a link on the guardian article which takes you to the findings.

[StraferJack]

what about this report tho

"the committee that decided to remove Alma had received a separate report that mentioned "chaotic" breastfeeding as a relatively minor concern.

"

[StraferJack]

To expand

The thought of a child being removed because of breastfeeding patterns is massively concerning

But equally

The thought of a child being left with a mother/father who, regardless of breastfeeding habits, is putting the child?s life/health at risk is massively concerning

From what I can see on this thread and on the facebook page, a lot of breast-feeding mothers are focusing on that aspect alone and disregarding anything else, with a suggestion that there is some conspiracy against breat-feeding. Which doesn?t make any sense at all does it?

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Is no one clicking on the link on the article from the doctor?

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

http://www.phdinparenting.com/2011/06/09/spanish-government-authorities-removed-15-month-old-nursling-from-mothers-care-due-to-her-refusal-to-wean-her-child-by-force/

http://theotherbabybook.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/habiba-hits-the-news-doctors-speak-out/

http://www.weareallhabiba.blogspot.com/

[Moos]

HeidiHi, the link to the report that I found on the Guardian was only excerpts and did not mention the graver concerns that the report is said to contain. It was a report by doctors and breasstfeeding experts on te breastfeeding aspects of the report, not the overall situation. Was there something that showed the whole case that I missed?