Indiana Woman Arrested for Drinking While Breastfeeding Baby in Front of Bar
The question of drinking while breastfeeding is a controversial one, and women spotted drinking while breastfeeding often get harassed or mocked on the Internet or even having the police called on them. But there’s a big difference between a nursing mother having a beer or a glass of wine and a nursing mother being way too drunk to take care of a baby, and it sounds like police were right to get involved on Friday when they arrested a woman for nursing her baby in front of an Indianapolis bar at 1 a.m.
According to People, the mother was spotted drinking beer while nursing her 7-month-old daughter, but she wasn’t just having a sip of the one beer. Police and witnesses say she was already extremely drunk and was shouting that she would have sex with anybody who went into the bar and brought her another beer. (It’s not legal to take a baby into a bar or bar area in Indiana, even if the place serves food.)
At one point, a witness said she actually chained the stroller up outside the bar like a bicycle and left the baby outside while she went in to buy more beer.
Police say that she was too drunk to properly provide ID or answer questions when they arrived at around 1 a.m. A Breathalyzer said her BAC was .193, and that’s a whole lot. At one point her husband came out, and he was allegedly just as drunk as she was, so nobody was really in any state to be watching a baby, except for the few people in the bar still sober enough to think, “Those people are way too drunk to be caring for that baby. Maybe I should call the police.”
Police say that when they showed up, the baby’s father was so belligerent he had to be put in handcuffs because they were worried he was going to start a brawl, even with the baby there. Both mother and father face felony charges for neglect of a dependent and misdemeanor charges for public intoxication.
The baby was reportedly taken into protective services and checked out just fine at the hospital, with no signs of abuse, neglect, or intoxication.
The mother reportedly told police that she was in town for a work conference. If that’s true, she’s certainly going to be the talk of the convention. “Where’s Shari?” “Oh, didn’t you hear?”
(Image: iStockPhoto / OkorokovaNatalya)
