A shocker of a story in Britain, where social services not only sectioned a pregnant Italian woman while she was in England on business, officials then forcibly removed her baby by cesarean section. Sadly, it's not the first tale of birthing breaches to come from the UK.
According to an article in the Metro, the woman had suffered a mental breakdown while in England and the council received a High Court order to take the baby from her, claiming it was "acting in the best interests of the pregnant woman."
Apparently the unnamed woman had suffered a panic attack and failed to take medication to treat her bipolar disorder. She sought help at the hospital, but on her return to the hotel she was sectioned and restrained under the Mental Health Act.
The case is due before Parliament next week as the woman, having fully recovered, is fighting to get her now 15-month-old baby returned to her care. Her British lawyer, Brendan Fleming, said a forced cesarean was unprecedented. "I have never heard of anything like this in all my 40 years in the job."
Of course the logical step would have been for the authorities to notify Italian social services and arrange for the woman (and indeed the baby) to return to her own country, where she presumably has a support network.
What do you make of this incredible story?
Sanctimonious mommies are annoying, agreed? But is there ever justification for stepping in when you witness downright irresponsible parenting? Jackie Conners thought so. Perhaps she'll be singing a different tune now. The waitress at an Arkansas pizzeria called police after seeing a customer knock back drink after alcoholic drink while breastfeeding her child. She isn't the only one out there drinking when she probably shouldn't.
“Me being a mom, and just seeing something like that and seeing a baby that can’t speak for itself having a parent do something like that is just unacceptable,” said Conners.
According to an article in Mommyish, Conners thought she was doing the right thing when she called the cops on "wasted" 28-year-old Tasha Adams. Sure enough the nursing mama was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor.
But the story doesn't end there. Only a few days later Conners was fired, supposedly for reasons unrelated to Adams.
As the writer in the Mommyish article points out, women's bodies are constantly 'policed' from our weight, to our clothes, right down to our wombs!
Was Conners right to call the police, or was she guilty of being a sanctimommy?
Is there ever a circumstance that justifies interfering with another person's parenting choices? Spill it.
Got a picky or selective eater on your hands? Forget animal rights, this clip right here—courtesy of Upworthy—is possibly the most compelling and simply moving reason to become a vegetarian I've heard to date.
And for the record, I can't say that I blame like Luiz Antonio for not wanting to eat his octopus-laden dinner, either. All chopped up little legs, and whatnot... We love 'the animals,' too!
(NB: Be sure to click on the 'cc' icon for the English translation or you'll miss this gem of a parenting moment.)
Would you support your children's decision if they refused to eat meat at a young age? What about for babies—is it safe to nix the meat?
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