Parents Plead Guilty After Child Becomes Malnourished

The parents of a child who became severely malnourished after they refused to feed him formula to support his mothers flagging milk supply have avoided jail in Queensland, despite pleading guilty.

Lawyers in defence of the couple said that the women believed breastmilk was best for her child, and that feeding him harmful formula would mean she was “a failure as a mother”.

At Brisbane’s District Court on Monday the youngster’s mother pled guilty to cruelty for ignoring medical advice to top up her breastfeeding after her son wasn’t gaining enough weight. By the time the boy was five months old, when he came to the attention of authorities, he weighed just 3.7kg, almost half of the average weight of his peers.

The child was also suffering from severe malnourishment and was so emaciated that his rib cage and shoulder bones were visible through the skin. His growth was also stunted, and doctors say he was suffering from muscle and tissue wastage.

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Judge David Kent was clear as the mother held back tears in the dock:

“This child could have died. Baby formula is not harmful, it is required for babies that are not thriving on breastfeeding.”

In court defence of the parents outlined that the mother-of-four had breastfed all of her previous children, and feared that there were harmful chemicals present in formula. She also had a fear of mainstream medical care, and was unable to see the severity of her son’s condition. This was made more difficult by her suffering from postnatal depression.

According to her lawyer: “She wanted to ask for help but couldn’t.”

The woman, aged 43, was sentenced to 18 months jail with immediate parole. Her husband, aged 50, was sentenced to 12 months, also with immediate parole, for doing nothing to ensure his son was a correct weight. The man told the court that he rarely saw his young son as he worked six days a week and the baby was usually asleep when he got home.

“Perhaps my work does drive me away from home but that’s what happens when you have to support everybody,” he said in court.

Now the child has made a full recovery and has been placed back with his parents.