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Breastfeeding Tip From Nurse Causes CPS To Investigate Mariah Carey
Did an innocent breastfeeding tip cause Child Protective Services to investigate Mariah Carey's new babies?
Just days after Mariah Carey gave birth to her twin babies, daughter Monroe and son Moroccan, Child Protective Services were ushered to the hospital to investigate false claims due to a frivolous conversation in the hospital, says husband Nick Cannon. The alleged conversation that caused the uproar was simple advice from a nurse to a new mom: that yeast will help in milk production so Mariah should try having a beer.
It’s a common belief that a polysaccharide in barley that is used to make beer stimulates prolactin, which helps moms make more milk. A nonalcoholic beer has the same effect. Some say the alcohol actually inhibits milk production. In any case, discussing this breastfeeding tactic is certainly no cause for alarm.
Cannon said last night on pre-taped appearance on Thursday’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” that “Child Protective Services were called with allegations that there was some drinking and drugs and all that going on while in the hospital.”
According to Cannon, an innocent comment was misconstrued when “a nurse suggested to my wife that if you drink Guinness … the yeast improves breast-feeding. I don’t know if someone overheard that but then they were saying that my wife was drinking beer and all this stuff.”
The NY Daily News reports that Cannon went on to say that it sad how people will go to any lengths to conjure up stories and I agree that it’s a sick state we’re in when people will invent claims against new parents and babies to make money.
It’s unfortunate that Mariah cannot just simply enjoy the first days of parenthood without public scrutiny. Everyone, famous or not deserves to enjoy motherhood without being harassed.
But what’s even more disturbing is the fact that CPS will rush almost immediately to investigate abuse charges when the parents involved are famous, yet it can take days, weeks, or even months to investigate real abuse cases. How many times have children been neglected and/or horrendously abused for great lengths of time after authorities failed to visit the home?
It’s infuriating on many levels. Let’s hope that the hospital officials who called authorities have learned their lesson and will have more common sense and discretion in the future with new moms.
Image: Wikipedia
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7 Comments
goddess commented on May 13 11 at 7:19 pmSickening. That the media and state acts in this manner.
LogicalMama commented on May 13 11 at 8:59 pmVery sad that this happened to them. Interestingly enough when a dear friend of me went in to labor and called her doula to let her know, her doula suggested she drink a beer b/c the hops would relax her and the yeast would encourage her milk to come down! Nurses know their stuff so if a nurse suggested it, why all the craziness around it?!
lam commented on May 14 11 at 9:08 amPlus, if she wants a Stitchie let her have one!
anon commented on May 14 11 at 10:33 amWhen I was 40 wks pregnant with my youngest, 2 things happened: 1. They told me he was breech and 2. My urine tested positive for marijuana! WTF? I denied using, and none of my other samples during the entire pregnancy tested positive, I thought maybe they mixed up samples or something. (FWIW, I had my prenatal care for my earlier children at the same office, never tested positive for drugs).
I was rushed to the hospital that afternoon, due to the breech positioning. About 12 hours later, the baby was born–and we both tested NEGATIVE for marijuana in our systems–not even a full day after the positive test. Clearly a fluke, right?
Apparently not, as I had CPS in my hospital room explaining to me the dangers of drug use. (Thanks.) Oh, and because I’m not famous and I wasn’t able to be outraged in a public forum–every week for 3 months CPS “stopped by” to “check on” me. They would make notes on how much laundry I had, whether there were dirty dishes in the sink, the types of food (and how much) in the house. Once, I didn’t hear CPS knock on the door (hello, crying baby), so CPS actually called the cops to help them get in.
So, yeah, I’m not really sure you have it right about when and where CPS rushes in.
ChiLaura commented on May 14 11 at 4:30 pmAnon, what a nightmare!
I know that CPS exists for a reason, and thank God it’s there for the kids who need it. The thing about beer is insane, though. Who has told me that drinking is fine (1 drink) during pregnancy and during breastfeeding? My family doctor; my midwife; a close family friend who’s a nurse. Does CPS really know more than they do? I can’t wait for the day when women can be put under some sort of protective custody for daring to drink during pregnancy. [eye roll.] I live in an urban area, and I swear that I almost live in paranoia that something I do or say while I’m out with my kids is going to rub some busybody the wrong way and that I’m going to find CPS knocking on my door. *shudder*
Andrea commented on May 15 11 at 10:05 pmChilaura, I feel the same way. I worked at a home for teen moms, and I know that some of the things I do in a healthy way (co-sleeping, occasional drinking, leaving my two year old alone in a room while I move laundry, taking cute naked bath photos) would be cause for CPS involvement. Meanwhile, we couldn’t get help with the girls had (literal) psychotic breaks. I feel like I need to hide many of the things I do to keep them from interference.
Bunnytwenty commented on May 16 11 at 11:03 am“So, yeah, I’m not really sure you have it right about when and where CPS rushes in.”
Seriously! The problem isn’t them waiting too long to rush in – the problem is them harassing families that aren’t doing anything wrong. (And hey! guess who pays them to keep families afraid? Us!)
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