Y'all don't bash the vegans... ;) It's probably has more to do with who ought not be breeding in the first place...

If the mother was so au naturel, how come she didn't breast feed the child? Or at least pay for a "wet nurse"?

I'm been trying to follow this story in the Atlanta paper and more developed info. is hard to come by.

I want to get a real sense of who these people are and what happened.

I tend to think of vegans as nutritionally aware because you sort of have to be to stay alive and healthy on a vegan diet. But I don't think of people who would let a baby starve to death as being nutritionally aware, obviously.

I don't tend to think prosecutors want to charge people with murder when their children die of malnutrition, especially when they were apparently trying to feed them. Additionally, as I remember, there wasn't a big flurry of media attention at the time of the death; there's nobody to send a message to with this conviction; as far as I can tell, nobody knew it had happened until the conviction. To seek justice for the baby, it's hard to figure out why the charge is murder rather than some other form of manslaughter or negligent homicide or something. And there's nothing illuminating in the news coverage as far as I can see.

Anyone?

this kind of reminds me of an episode of house - same deal, parents were vegans, the kid was malnourished, and they called child protective services, only to discover that the parents were working with a nutritionist to ensure that the baby got the right amount of calories because of the vegan diet. the baby had a condition that prevented the absorption of nutrients as i remember.

but really, i mean 3.5 pounds? i don't care what kind of diet your baby is on, you'd have to be willfully ignoring it at that point, because i'm guessing that's less than what the baby weighed when it went home.

if they were so adamant about the vegan diet, they should have worked with someone to ensure that the baby was well nourished, this is negligent, vegan or not.

Some women who have given birth cannot lactate enough for the health of the child, essentially causing malnourishment. If the mother fails to consume enough proper nutrients, she will have a problem passing them on, as well as immunity and several other things beyond our scientific comprehension now, that without out it, the child can get sick.

Mouse pups literally die within 24 hours of birth when you do not feed the mother water and that's if the mother doesn't eat the pups.

Maybe it takes 3 months for a human baby to die from lack of nutrition but in this case, the parents won't eat the baby...

Don't underestimate the cult mentality of the La Leche League (aka the leaky league).I nursed all 4 of my children. However, before giving birth to #2, I had a breast cancer scare. My doctors and I agreed I would nurse for 6 weeks before going for further testing, etc. LLL big-muckey muck gave me HELL because I thought it would be better for my daughter to have a live mother and be fed formula than be nursed until I dropped dead. Nope - I was evil for wanting to live. (FYI - I'm fine)

I had alot of trouble BFing with my daughter and she was losing weight rapidly. My ped. told me to supplement BFing with formula, and although, I didn't want to do it, I also didn't want her to die.

However, when I contacted the lactation specialist at the hospital for some extra advice, she treated me like I was a child-abuser for giving my baby formula twice a day. :mad: The LLL is maniacal in my opinion.

I think the parents had good intentions initially, but did not do the proper research before they had the child. I understand people are entitled to eat what they please, but when you are endangering the life of your child (or anyone else for that matter) it is time to reevaluate the situation.

^^^
Most folks uneducated in the medical arts fail to recognize obvious symptoms of pain in those who are unable to speak, namely babies that just cry.

As far as a mother unable to breast feed and choosing formula vs. human breast milk, I could care less what someone chooses, just as long as at minimum, the baby is soiling ~5 diapers per day, that assures me there is the required nutrition.

As for vegans, they limit their food intake because they believe all things with a face is improper for them to eat. I know, I use to be one. But I do not have a child to worry about feeding properly, nor to I force that upon someone.

But, there is something to be said about the lack of B complex vitamins and psychoneuroses. That's is a Cecil's and Harrison's Medical Textbook example of psychosis... It's standard... Even Stedman's Dictionary states it.

The lactation consultant I talked to told me "Think of giving formula to yorur baby as giving them alcohol" Um...no, nutjob. Oh, and the fact that I was pumping instead of straight from the breast was evil as well. Whatever.:rolleyes:

I thought that episode of House was the one with the vegans who were feeding their baby a raw diet and caused pneumonia and malnutrition.

The lack of nutrients in this couple's diet have killed some braincells if they think a 3.5lb baby is healthy and normal.

I think the Vegan baby had something else wrong with it. He assumed they were malnourishing it, but a family member was a nutritionist and made the baby was being adequately fed. I dont' remember why the baby was sick though.

Apparently a distant family member is vegan/veg, and they were feeding their son nothing but tofu, rice and potatoes and the boy wasn't talking/walking properly at age 2.

You know melamine has been stuck into human foodstuffs... Including vegan options...

i am one of those people that when these new lifestyle things come up, i like to do research, i.e. veganism, kabballah, "green" occasions, and most recently scientology.

my sister is a vegetarian, so when i looked up becoming vegan for her, i realized it is seriously (for people not raised that way) a lifestyle change. i also noticed that it can be a bit restrictive for those people as well (not passing judgement). it is no joke, being a vegan. it requires research and concentration and discipline, or else you can get ill.

these people? umm, not too sure they did their research. they would have known what to do and what not to do. if you are going to introduce a lifestyle this different to an infant, you cross every t, and dot every i. and now they blamed their lack of preparation on a lifestyle that works wonders for people and is a respected choice.

i feel the punishment was a bit extreme, unless there was more damning evidence that these people straight out killed the child intentionally. i feel it was severe neglect, and 20 or 30 years or so would straighten them out.