"We are all Habiba"

Have you heard about this?!  Read the article here.  A 15-month-old baby was taken away from her mother because the mother refused to stop breastfeeding.  I am shocked and appalled.  It's been nearly two weeks, and they have not been reunited.  Investigations into Habiba's parenting have shown that she is a typical mom, providing for her daughter as best she can.  The reports from the investigations have been made public, and I think many parents will discover they are just like Habiba.  What do you do when your child won't sleep?  If you ever brought him or her into your bed, you are like Habiba.  If you feed your young toddler from your plate, you are like Habiba.  Oh my!  My blood is boiling over this!

Luke and I ended our nursing relationship when he was about 10 months old.  With my pregnancy, my supply diminished to such an amount that he would grow frustrated when nursing.  Not only that, but I could feel some contractions when he nursed, which while sometimes very normal for pregnant moms who breastfeed, were just a bit scary to me.  Luckily for us, Luke responded well to weaning, and seemed ready to end that stage of his babyhood.  I was definitely more emotional about it, in fact!  I share all this only to highlight that if we had not had such circumstances impede our breastfeeding, we might still be doing it today, at 15 months old, which is exactly the age of Habiba's baby.  While we may not be nursing anymore, I wholeheartedly believe that women and babies should have the right to do so for as long as they see fit.

If you have not already done so, please sign the petition to have Habiba reunited with her daughter.  The form asks for your first name, last name, email address, and postal code.  You can access the petition here.