Community of moms volunteers to breast-feed after baby’s mother dies

December 2, 2009 by Shawn Douglas  
Filed under: News

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A community of moms in Michigan has been breast-feeding a baby whose mother died shortly after being born into the world.

Robbie Goodrich is thankful for the impromptu group of women that have passed through his home for the last ten months. If it weren’t for the more than 20 women, arrangements to take care of his baby son Moses would have been much more difficult.

Goodrich’s wife Susan died from a rare condition, called an amniotic fluid embolism, shortly after giving birth to Moses.

Goodrich soon realized that caring for the baby was going to be a much more difficult task. Knowing how important breast-feeding was to Susan, he investigated options for donor breast milk. But soon after ordering some to be delivered, he received a call from Laura Janowski, a friend of the family. She volunteered to breast-feed Moses.

Soon afterwards, a volunteer network sprung up. Lactation specialists were consulted about the safety of using multiple sources. A white board was placed in Goodrich’s living room diagramming the complicated schedule of who would need to be where and when.

Goodrich, a history professor at Northern Michigan University, has since been thankful for the support. “It’s been such an incredible outpouring of community love for this child of mine,” Goodrich told CNN.

“This has certainly stretched the parameters of what is public. I’ve had to open the door to complete strangers, inviting them into the most private, intimate part of my life.”

Carrie Fiocchi has been breastfeeding Moses every day at 9 a.m. She received a call from a church friend explaining Goodrich’s situation. When she showed up, family members were gathering for Susan’s funeral. Despite the awkward situation, Fiocchi fed Moses, and has been doing so since.

The group of volunteers has changed over the months, some steadfastly helping while others had to move away to raise children of their own. New volunteers appear as well in what could be described as a whole community of mothers, taking on the duties of motherhood.

While some people have criticized Fiocchi for such an unusual arrangement, he says that it’s the best scenario for Moses given the circumstances.

“Some people think this is just about food. I think there’s so much more. It’s the nurturing aspect,” he told the National Post.

“He’s held by mothers. He is held as much as any breast-fed child. He’s nuzzled up to a mom who’s stroking him, who’s cooing with him, who’s talking with him, whose voice he recognizes and knows.”

He added that the atmosphere has helped him to deal with the situation in a more productive manner. “Rather than the house being full of death and mourning, it’s full of life and love,” he said.

Historically, such communal care for a baby isn’t that strange. Molly Ladd-Taylor, professor of history at York University, told the National Post that women throughout history have always had times when they were unable to nurse. She noted that the increase in popularity of bottle feeding in the late 19th century removed the communal aspect.

“What’s interesting about this case is that the women involved are part of a community,” said Ladd-Taylor. “In that sense, it goes back to a tradition of communal childrearing — ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’”

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