5 ms·

"A crib in the corner is blocked off by a curtain. A sign says Do Not Feed." I'm slightly scared to ask - but what would the explanation for that be?

brazzy 8y ago
https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/for-families-and-carers/growing-up/feeding-2/ https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/for-families-and-carers/gr... "A few babies have medical problems which affect feeding. Babies with gastro-intestinal tract (GI tract) disorders who need an operation will not be allowed to feed at first and will get nutrients intravenously."
- arethuza 8y ago
  Thanks - that makes perfect sense.
- janetlyon 8y ago
  I am sorry to say that those babies were being passively euthanized. Starved to death, to put it more bluntly. It was a very different time; their lives were considered disposable. The fact that I now have a 27 year-old son with Down syndrome, who is the light of my life, makes those memories otherworldly and almost unbelievable. --The author
  - dexen 8y ago
    >those babies were being passively euthanized. Starved to death This breaks my heart. Doubly so, given that I have similar cases[1] in recent memory[2] where the medical staff and even the even parents were forbade and forcibly prevented from feeding the kids. Thank you for writing the article, Janet, however painful it must have been for you. It's better that we know, and can act upon the knowledge. -- [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Evans_case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Evans_case [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Gard_case#Outcome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Gard_case#Outcome
    - brazzy 8y ago
      > Doubly so, given that I have similar cases[1] in recent memory[2] where the medical staff and even the even parents were forbade and forcibly prevented from feeding the kids. This is untrue, and the cases are not even remotely comparable to OP's story. Alfie Evans and Charlie Gard had both suffered heavy brain damage and were incapable of feeding or even continuously breathing on their own, with no realistic perspective of improvement.
  - brazzy 8y ago
    That is indeed hard to believe. Do you have any idea what the legal basis for this practice was?

brazzy 8y ago

https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/for-families-and-carers/growing-up/feeding-2/ https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/for-families-and-carers/gr... "A few babies have medical problems which affect feeding. Babies with gastro-intestinal tract (GI tract) disorders who need an operation will not be allowed to feed at first and will get nutrients intravenously."

arethuza 8y ago
Thanks - that makes perfect sense.
janetlyon 8y ago
I am sorry to say that those babies were being passively euthanized. Starved to death, to put it more bluntly. It was a very different time; their lives were considered disposable. The fact that I now have a 27 year-old son with Down syndrome, who is the light of my life, makes those memories otherworldly and almost unbelievable. --The author
- dexen 8y ago
  >those babies were being passively euthanized. Starved to death This breaks my heart. Doubly so, given that I have similar cases[1] in recent memory[2] where the medical staff and even the even parents were forbade and forcibly prevented from feeding the kids. Thank you for writing the article, Janet, however painful it must have been for you. It's better that we know, and can act upon the knowledge. -- [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Evans_case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Evans_case [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Gard_case#Outcome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Gard_case#Outcome
  - brazzy 8y ago
    > Doubly so, given that I have similar cases[1] in recent memory[2] where the medical staff and even the even parents were forbade and forcibly prevented from feeding the kids. This is untrue, and the cases are not even remotely comparable to OP's story. Alfie Evans and Charlie Gard had both suffered heavy brain damage and were incapable of feeding or even continuously breathing on their own, with no realistic perspective of improvement.
- brazzy 8y ago
  That is indeed hard to believe. Do you have any idea what the legal basis for this practice was?