Village Breastfeeds Baby Moses
On 11 January, in the wee hours of the morning, Charles Moses Martin Goodrich was born. Tragically, this happy time was mixed with sadness when Moses’ mother died 11 hours later of amniotic fluid embolism, a rare obstetric complication. Robbie Goodrich, Moses’ father, was faced with the dilemma of feeding his newborn son. Marquette General Hospital didn’t have donor breast milk available and the closest source would take three days to deliver.
A family friend, nursing her four-month-old daughter, contacted Robbie and offered to donate some of her breast milk. Robbie knew his wife wanted Moses breastfed and this opportunity seemed perfect. Robbie then got in touch with Yoopers Nursers, an organization offering breastfeeding support for women in the upper peninsula of Michigan. They helped to find 20 other mothers willing to take on the role of nursing Moses. They created a schedule where he is fed at 9am, noon, 1.30, 4, 6.30 and 8pm by different mothers in the group. Moses is fed pumped breast milk from these women at night and has been blessed by these dedicated mothers for two months. Robbie hopes that he will find a way to continue providing breast milk for his son until he is a year old as per the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation. Moses has benefitted tremedously from this cross-nursing group and has yet to get sick. What a lucky baby to be getting all those marvelous antibodies from all these women.
I think this is a tremendous story about a father’s willingness to give the gift of breast milk to his child despite the circumstances. I find it remarkable that these women are so devoted to breastfeeding that they open their hearts and breasts to Moses while continuing to nurse their own children.
My blog about Cross Feeding: Reverting Back to Ancient Pastimes addresses the issues involved in nursing someone else’s baby and the beautiful gift that it is as well as the factors to consider before doing this. I think the story of Moses is a wonderful modern example of the success of cross nursing and what a positive influence it has. They say it takes a village to raise a child. I think it’s fantastic that this “village’”is helping to raise baby Moses through cross nurser breastfeeding.
