An Illinois couple had their child put in protective custody after they delivered her at home against hospital advice. Over a month later, they are still fighting to get her home.
Ryan and Melissa (Harris) Light now have 8 hours a day of visitation with their baby girl, who is nearly six weeks old.
They posted their story on their Facebook page, Bring Ruth Home:
"Ruth Abigail Light was born at home on July 21st at 7:38PM. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20 inches long. During the birth, her shoulders were stuck momentarily (Shoulder Dystocia) but once they were free, she came right out. Ruth was doing well but a few hours later she seemed to be fussier than usual and we decided to take her in to get her checked out just to be sure. We took her to the ER in the middle of the night. Over the next few days, they told us that her arms had nerve damage from her shoulders getting stuck and a couple of days later, someone filed a complaint against us citing medical neglect for having her at home vs. the recommended C-section since she was breech. Since that time, Ruth has had every test possible run and so far, she seems to be doing very well. Her arms are recovering and she is a very content baby."
They continue:
"Unfortunately, the State of Illinois took her into custody as a result of the complaint and she has been in foster care for over a week. During that time, we were only allowed to see her twice for a couple of hours. Thankfully, as of Aug. 9th, she was placed with Melissa's parents and we are now allowed to see her for a few hours each day."
Local and online support has been growing for the family, who have been caught up in red tape as they await a court date to get their daughter home. A fundraiser was held and the Facebook page has information on how to donate to their legal and medical costs.
Baby Ruth seems to be thriving despite the circumstances. Her parents reported on August 20 that at her last doctor's appointment, the doctor reported no health concerns and her weight was 10 lbs. 2 oz.
Laws regarding homebirth vary from state to state. The Light family lives in Illinois, where legislative debates have been raging about midwife certification and home births.
See Minnesota Birth for more information on homebirth and other delivery options in Minnesota.
Comments
Thinking about the fact that this baby is probably consuming baby formula is just disgusting. Now that is child neglect.
I hate to be a breastfeeding "nazi" but I agree. Unless she was going to feed her formula anyway...
I don't think that you have ANY right saying that giving a child baby formula is neglect. What credentials do you have to support such a theory anyway? My daughter was formula fed and she is just fine. Who are you to judge anybody? I really hate the women who think that breastfeeding is the ONLY way to feed your child. There are women out there who just can't do it. And, I was one of them! So, don't sit there and criticize anybody about the way they feed their baby. GROW UP!
I am just wondering what sources were used for this article. If the only source is the facebook page I am very suspicious that it may be a hoax. I can't find any other articles about this anywhere.
If that is not an asinine statement I don't know what is. So glad you are so perfect and can do the whole breastfeeding anyhow. Hmm if formula fed babies are getting neglected maybe you are neglecting yourself by buying food from the store instead of growing your own food in your own yard.
I don't think that anybody has the right to judge anybody else for how they feed their babies! I was not able to breastfeed therefore I had to formula feed. Lord knows I tried my hardest to pump...every day for 8 weeks and NOTHING! If it wasn't for my nursing staff at the hospital giving my daughter a bottle after 3 days of trying while at the hospital...my daughter would have been very malnourished. Ya'll just need to grow up and leave each other alone..but, that would be too easy!
The parents WERE negligent and put their daughters life in danger by having her at home. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that the baby should be removed, that is simply overkill. A baby should ONLY be removed from parents when there is serious, ongoing abuse.The state seems to take kids so quickly, even though the foster system is overwhelmed. How is putting a baby in a traumatic situation with strangers any better than just punishing the parents or making them take a class?
also, quit being such a sanctimony about breastfeeding. there is nothing wrong with formula!
My friend had a baby who had shoulder dystociai n the hospital. they broke the babies shoulder. No one out those doctors in jail.
My friend had a baby who had shoulder dystociai n the hospital. they broke the babies shoulder. No one out those doctors in jail.
I think the point is that the state forced formula on the baby for this B S, among other things like taking them away from the parents. I mean really, as another poster suggested, children get shoulder dislocations all the time from birth in a hospital, and frankly, the doctors suggesting a C-section due to breach are basically incompetent in that they don't know who to deliver a breach baby. There's nothing wrong with breach if someone who knows how is there, which obviously there was or the birth wouldn't have gone well.
Having a child at home is NOT negligent. All studies show that having a baby at home is just as safe if not safer than in a hospital. It's a proven fact. And formula isn't the best option, but it's a choice some people make. While breastfeeding is best, it's not something everyone can or want to do.
And if you tried pumping for 8 weeks and didn't get anything -- it doesn't mean you can't breastfeed, it means you can't pump! Babies weight should determine if they're eating enough, not if you can pump into a bottle, and the weight charts doctors use are for formula fed babies. You can find breastfed baby charts at kellymom.com
I love how people think they're better than others. Get over yourself.
And, yes I did pump for 8 weeks and got nothing. I like how people think they know everything about everybody but none of you live with me. My daughter didn't even get any colostrum because I didn't have any to give!!!!!! I was dry as a well!
Actually according to the FB link, the baby was nursing until she was taken, and has been taking her mother's breastmilk in a bottle when the mother has not been able to nurse her.
Let's stick to the subject. A child was removed from her loving parents who delivered her the same way millions of humans in all corners of this world still do as they have for millions of years.
++there if no way of knowing the baby would come out breech ahead of time++
OBs have been battling this for centuries. Many times an OB will attempt, or succeed in turning the baby if they suspect it in the last moments, many OBs don't - because the baby often does turn around on their own.
Those of you living in a hole may not be aware of the fact that we are one of the last countries in the world with the high percentage of c-sections we have in the US
It is LUDACRIS that the child was taken.....Any one who disagrees should put themselves in the mother's shoes before they put their feet in their mouths!
This is so sad. There are plenty of actual abused children that the state could be helping and they take away a baby because of her mother's birth choices.
All those other comments about formula being perfectly fine are correct. I totally agree that there is nothing at all wrong with feeding your baby ground up beetles (and their larvae) and rocket fuel. Breastfeeding advocates need to get over it!
LMAO, sorry had to say it.
This is OUTRAGEOUS! Childbirth is a natural process, whereas cesareans are not natural. The parents are well within their rights. The fact that they took her to the ER immediately when they thought there was a problem proves they want the best for their baby. Our country has turned birth into a hospital procedure...this is so sad for our country that we do not value women, babies, and families enough to value the beautiful process of birth. These parents need to have their baby back immediately so that they can truly bond and become the family unit they deserve to be.
So my question is this....Would hospitals lose every lawsuit if every parent in our country took legal action each time a baby had should dystocia during birth? Hospitals do not get held accountable many times when they could have prevented incidents just by waiting and allowing women to birth at their own time and pace. Give this baby back!!
I am so tired of these child abuse stories, the law assuming that medical care is the only care available... As for formula vs breastmilk--here is an article that says a lot: http://www.naturalnews.com/029863_Similac_infant_formula.html
Quote Anonymous, "I don't think that you have ANY right saying that giving a child baby formula is neglect. What credentials do you have to support such a theory anyway? My daughter was formula fed and she is just fine. Who are you to judge anybody? I really hate the women who think that breastfeeding is the ONLY way to feed your child. There are women out there who just can't do it. And, I was one of them! So, don't sit there and criticize anybody about the way they feed their baby. GROW UP!"
Deep breath. Calm down. Seriously, go watch the leaves fall from trees while drinking a nice cup of warm chamomile tea.
1. The poster was speaking of this particular child. That is why he or she said "this baby" instead of saying "every baby on earth."
2. Breastfeeding is the optimal way to nourish a baby. That's just a fact. Human milk for human babies. Cow milk for cow babies. Seal milk for... okay you get the picture. The baby was born at home and the mother was already breastfeeding. Now her daughter is in custody and is not only not getting to bond with her parents, she is also being fed inferior food. Hey, I was formula fed, too and I have no problem saying that formula is inferior to breast milk. It just is. It's not anything to get angry about, unless you want to direct your anger at the formula companies who market their product to sound equivalent to breast milk.
3. Your daughter is not the issue here. The issue is that this particular baby would be breastfed right this moment if she had not been unfairly taken from her parents. I'm not sure about your reasons for not breastfeeding. Maybe you wanted to but had trouble. Maybe you didn't care at the time but now feel judged for not trying. Maybe you thought you couldn't but you would have done better with more help. But unless you also had your baby taken away from you so that you literally could not breastfeed, then you can't compare your situation to what this mother and baby are going through.
4. The idea there are women who just can't breast feed is a cliche. Far more women can breastfeed perfectly fine but they don't have the right information. They get flustered, they say they have no milk supply which they usually base on not being able to pump very much. I have two kids. My daughter was 100% breastfed for her entire first year of life and I never pumped more than one ounce at a time. She had plenty of milk, I just couldn't get it out as efficiently as her little mouth. You can't decide whether you have enough milk based on the amount you get pumping, yet so many moms judge their entire ability to breast feed on pumping.
5. The situation is disgusting for this particular baby because the mom was breastfeeding. So yes, this is a very disgusting situation. We are a gentle discipline family. We've never spanked our kids. If they were taken away from us and given to a family who spanks then that would be a disgusting situation. I don't care how many people grew up being spanked or who spanked their own kids and had them turn out fine. For my kids, my family, my values, that would be a disgusting situation. It's the same with this mother and breast feeding. Everyone is not you, you are not me, I am not anyone else. We have to make our experiences our own and not try to internalize the situations of others.
7. Grow up is good advice. I thought once I hit 30 it would happen, but I'm still the same old me. Maybe when I'm 40, then.
Peace!
Give them their baby back!!! This is absolutely ridiculous!!!
Just one more time when the state needs to be worring about kids that are beaten and molested not a LOVED baby being ripped from her parents. I can not believe that this happens. GIVE THEM THEIR BABY BACK!!!!!!
The baby needs to be home with her parents. It is a travesty that the State would take a baby away from her mother. The trauma caused by being away from her mother and presumably deprived of breast milk is of far greater concern than a midwife delivering a breech baby. It is ridiculous to call it "neglect" simply because the parents and their midwife decided to attempt a home birth instead of subjecting the mother to a major invasive surgery. C-sections are recommended in many instances when they are not necessary simply because it is a way for the hospital to minimize their liability. If anyone has any doubts about the decision made by the parents, I would recommend reading Spirtiual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin. While Gaskin is well known for her work at the Farm Midwifery Center and the above referenced book, there is also a technique used by doctors in hospitals and taught in med schools that was pioneered by Gaskin. The technique, known as the Gaskin Maneuver, is used to resolve shoulder dystocia. Thanks to Gaskin, a c-section can easilly be avoided in breech situations.
X2, yes basically the doctors do not know how to deliver a breech so suggest C-section. Now who is negligent in this situation? The doctors for not learning these methods? Or the parents for going to a qualified midwife who knows how to deliver breech?
This is an absolute atrocity. The system has failed that baby and it's parents! A healthy baby born to loving parents taken away because the hospital wasn't able to make thousands of dollars by cutting the mother open! A healthy baby ripped from it's mothers arms and placed into foster care: FAIL. It would be fair to say that the mother planned on breastfeeding her baby, and that baby is now sucking down man-made chemicals and cow milk out of a bottle. This is a disgusting story and a glimpse into the failures of our society. GIVE THAT BABY BACK!
"Baby Ruth seems to be thriving despite the circumstances."
I think that this gives the state too much credit. Sure, little Ruth is lucky enough to be with her loving grandparents now, and she is gaining weight and healing like a champ. But can we really say that a baby is "thriving" when she has spent the majority of her time on this planet away from her parents? She may be physically healthy, but I don't think that we should let the state off the hook for the damage that it does by removing a baby (especially one so young!) from her mother. The idea that this baby spent any time in foster care is heartbreaking.
Baby Ruth needs to be bonding with her mother and father. Has the state never heard of attachment disorders??? Plus with the amount of stress this is putting the family into, how can they possibly have the tranquility that the baby need. Give the baby back and go save the ones who are in harms way.
If the hospital knew the baby was in danger from the beginning they should have made the parents stay. You may not have to agree to all medical advice..however, for every action there is a consequence. If there had been a midwife present it would be a different story...and I'm sorry but after reading that the baby suffered nerve damage...I would have called myself. There is a fine line between doing what you think is right...and what is completely out of line. That baby should have been in a hospital where it could be cared for from the beginning! That is what hospitals are for. I don't think they had any regards for the baby's safety at all.
That is the most ignorant statement I've read on this topic thus far. Make the parents stay? How do you propose they do that? Handcuff mom to the bed? Last time I checked this was a free country in which we are free to make our own decisions, even when it comes to health care (gasp!). There are many people out there who believe hospitals and doctors are for sick and injured people, not healthy pregnant women.
And if you think nerve damage was a result of negligence, then you've obviously never worked in a labor and delivery unit...I can't tell you the number of injured babies I've seen delivered by overzealous doctors. I've also seen perfectly healthy fetuses die in utero during labor because of medical mistakes but guess what? Everything's ok because there's someone to blame who has malpractice insurance! And it happened in a hospital so surely everything was done right!
The truth is, things happen during birth...both in and out of the hospital. These parents did nothing wrong in my opinion and for you to say that you would have reported them too makes me think you don't know much about childbirth either. CPS is for severe cases of child neglect and abuse...neither of which has happened here. A family lovingly brought their child into the world in their own home and were prosecuted for it.
Sounds reasonable to me.
/sarcasm.
I do know about child birth..I have an 18 month old daughter~! And what the hell is CPS? DCFS is the only place that gets notified of any abuse in my area. And, I'm sorry...but, not having your child in a hospital...with no knowledge of how to take care of a baby right after birth is negligent and harmful...what if mom had bled out...what the hell would they have done then?! Not a damn thing but have to worry about not one but two people...mom bleeding out and brand new baby! They didn't think nor did they use their heads at all!
anon, i feel sorry for you because you don't know any better. do some research. most of the "emergencies" are caused by intervention (at the hospital). birth isn't inherantly an emergency. some choose to have their baby at home because they want to welcome their baby into a calm loving environment, not a hectic "sterile" one. the only mistake these people made was taking their baby to the hospital to get checked out. a lot of babies have some nerve damage after a distocia and it usually takes a few days to clear up.
Having a baby in your home is fine if you know what the hell you are doing. There are a lot of facts that aren't being let out...not all of this story is there...read between the lines...the only person I feel sorry for is that baby! I don't care about research...the f***in pope could have put this info out and I still wouldn't believe all of it!
you know everything about birth because you have had one baby.. grow up. I have delivered five children and i dont know EVERYTHING about birth. but i do know enough to know that you cant plan for everything, in OR out of a hospital.. i had my last baby in a hospital, and you know what, the doctor almost DROPPED him! but do you know what would have been done if she had? not a thing. she would have faced no consequences except maybe a rise in her insurance premiums. HOWEVER if i had had him at home and my midwife or husband had dropped him.. yep, there goes you calling child protective services.. (CPS, see how that works.. oops, guess thats something else you know nothing about, the acronyms different child welfare services use when they are getting into peoples businesses and ruining peoples lives.. or NOT getting into peoples business, and ruining peoples lives that way. child services is notorious for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, they do more harm than good most of the time.) People need to reach out to eachother and help and get involved before jumping the gun. and no, i am not anti involvement, i am pro involvement, anti interference. this was clearly a case of interferance, if the parents had intended to neglect the child, guess what, SHE WOULDNT HAVE BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL FOR THEM TO SEIZE. she would have been at home, being neglected. the end.
just because a doctor says a baby is in danger doesnt make it so. they ARENT god ! they dont know for sure- they just give their best advice . this IS america and last time i checked we were FREE. FREE to make our own medical choices for us and our children. how dare anyone insinuate that it would be "ethical" to perform major surgery on someone against their wishes just because a doctor feels its best. be careful what you wish for - it could be you they harvest something from "for your own good" . if people want those kinds of laws maybe china would be a more country to their liking ?! its so ironic to me that we are allowed to choose where our baby would be murdered but not where we give life to them .sometimes because we arent god either we make a choice that may harm us or our children- we have to live with that and THAT is punishment enough. whose to say that baby wouldnt have been damaged by the c-section - babies and mothers are everyday and we dont see the same level of outrage directed at physicians for making a call that HARMED one of their patients . more mothers and babies are DYING today than 30 yrs ago and it is by far because of our enormous c-section epidemic . breech babies were successfully delivered by physicians ALL THE TIME 30-40 yrs ago. it was the NORM for them to be born vaginally (depending on position of course) and they fared very well . since then, those skilled doctors are long gone and very very few have passed on those skills. todays doctors are inferior when it comes to natural birth (they sure are good surgeons though!) and dont have to ability to even consider a vaginal birth when its likely it WOULD be best because they DONT KNOW HOW to deliver those babies. i applaud these parents for making a very tough choice . i wouldnt have wanted to be in their shoes. what they need now is compassion and outcry for their baby being stolen from them for practicing freedom of "choice".
This is counter productive for CPS. Do they really want parents to fear bringing an infant to a hospital for care? That is the only thing that will come out of this for other parents that may want to seek medical care in an unconventional situation. A bad choice on the state's part for families already wary of the medical system.
God has given parents rights and responsibilities for caring for their own children. Most of the history of our country parents had the freedom to choose things like where and how to give birth to their babies. Their choice was not abuse. It was the practice of their God given responsibility. Free people do that. It sounds to me like they made a right decision, and the baby is turning out okay. Even if the baby did not turn out okay, the parents still should have the right to make their own decisions. Who wants to volunteer to be part of a society where all of the decisions are made only by the educated elite? I believe in the family's freedom. Give the baby back and get out of their personal business.
Give them back their baby!
This is ridiculous! My son was born in a hospital, with an OB/GYN and he got stuck, then once he finally came out he also had "nerve damage". It can happen anywhere! Besides, like my son, my guess is that this baby's nerve damage was temporary. A friend of mine has had 2 of her 3 daughters born at hospitals have broken clavicles from delivery. They healed, it was fine. Give this child back to her parents!
give them back there baby it is there choice if they want to have it at home or not. women used to have them all the time at home. it is there choice.
Give that baby back!!
Geez. Give them back their baby-it is a waste of state money, time, and effort to take an infant away from parents who chose to have a homebirth. Really.
I'm all for natural child birth and the parents making the majority of decisions about their birth plan. But it really pisses me off when parents are told that something like this could endanger their child's life and they do it anyway! They are lucky that she is ok now and that she didn't die during child birth. If she still wanted to avoid a C-section she could have attempted a vaginal birth at the hospital which would have been much safer! Though they probably should have their baby back, perhaps they will think twice before endangering another child's life by completely disregarding doctors advice. There is a reason that they have a medical degree. To each their own but I personally would never have a home birth even if the doctors saw no reason not to - way too much can go wrong at the last minute and I want every resource available to help my child, and that simply isn't possible w/ a home birth. They were completely irresponsible!
Hospital birth is more dangerous for HEALTHY mothers and HEALTHY babies. This baby is HEALTHY. She had shoulder dystocia, which would have happened in the hospital as well. The cascade of interventions done at hospitals is ridiculous, not to mention the number of mothers and children who go home with infections. Hospitals are for sick people, not healthy women giving birth to healthy babies!
I think that this was the couple's first baby...and given that, this woman probably would have been forced to have a cesarean against her will if she'd shown up at a hospital in labor. That is probably why she elected to birth at home--though I could be wrong. I have no idea when the decision was made to pursue a home birth.
A doctor can give "advice," but it should remain just that--ADVICE, not EDICTS.
Doctors are human, and can make mistakes with their "advice." I have been mis-diagnosed several times. In one situation I had even suggested what turned out to the be the correct diagnosis to 3 different doctors. Of course since the diagnosis was wrong, the suggested treatment plan was all wrong--which frustrated the heck out of me because I KNEW they were wrong (definition of insanity being to keep doing the same thing and expect different results--well they all suggested doing the "same thing" even though I'd already told them it wasn't working). Finally a 4th doctor--who I didn't suggest a diagnosis to because I'd been beaten down by the first 3--finally made the correct diagnosis and was able to successfully treat my symptoms--which by that point, 3 years into seeking treatment--were excruciating and had landed me in the ER. I've been told I "needed" corrective surgery for a sports injury, but then two other doctors told me I only needed some PT. I went back to the first doctor as a courtesy to tell him in person that I was transferring my care, and he spent another 45 minutes trying to convince me that I really needed the surgery. 16 years later with no surgery, I'm doing fine. I've been prescribed a medication that makes me violently nauseous several times, even though my medical chart is always marked with a big sticker on the outside indicating that I should not be given it.
Also, decisions in medicine are often about balancing which set of risks an individual wants to accept--and the risks that a doctor is comfortable with may be very different than the risks an individual patient is comfortable with.
HOW RIDICULOUS! I delivered all of my babies in a hospital setting (with either OB/Gyns or Certified Midwives) - 2 times the doc never showed up at all and a nurse "caught" my babies (not quick births either). With my 5th baby, a midwife I'd never met before (she was on the rotation) delivered my baby after 34 hours of labor. Shoulder was stuck - shoulder dystocia. Baby's right shoulder/arm was paralyzed for over one month. Hubs and I decided to put her arm through range-of-motion at every diapering - as the docs told us "well, you can try that". At 6 weeks old, she moved her thumb. Slowly....she got the use of her shoulder/arm/hand. No one called CPS on the midwife. In fact, despite the fact that I was repeatedly asking to see an OB after 24 hours in labor - she never even apologized. Stuff like this happens. When the "trained professionals" are involved then no one says a thing. What a sad, sad commentary on America. So broken in so many ways. This baby needs to be home with her parents!
amen sister. too many people mistake the word "doctor" for the word "God" they are not interchangable.
Breech vaginal births are STILL safer than c-sections any day. Even the nation's best hospitals will still see more deaths from c-section related injuries and disorders than any type of vaginal birth, guaranteed. Shoulder dystocia, while unfortunate and sad, is NOT the end of the line for a child - and with help from the proper OT and PT, babies with lingering problems regain full use of their arms with no further issues, the end.
Proof please? I am afraid there isn't any. Unfortunately, what you are claiming here is just a natural birth movement propaganda, which is unsupported by any data.
Can Skeptic, the "proof" can be found rather easily, starting by knowing that in the past year the Canadian equivalent to "ACOG" issued revised guidelines on breech birth saying that for women who have already had a vaginal birth should be strongly considered, as when the baby is in a good position (butt first rather than feet first), vaginal birth is safer than cesarean for mother and baby.
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