No breast milk on religious grounds - Parents booked by Kerala police

The hospital authorities had complained that the father of the child had insisted that the new born not be fed breast milk for 24 hours citing religious grounds

New Delhi, Nov 5: The Kerala police has registered a case against the parents who had denied breast milk to their child citing religious grounds. The Kerala police which received a complaint in this regard have registered the case under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The hospital authorities had complained that the father of the child had insisted that the new born not be fed breast milk for 24 hours citing religious grounds. He had said that the baby should not be breastfed until the completion of five prayers.

Aboobacker, a resident of Kozhikode in Kerala had argued with doctors at the hospital that a preacher had told him to give the child some honey and water from Mecca.

The hospital authorities at the EMS Cooperative Hospital at Kozhikode pleaded, coaxed and even tried threatening him. But the man refused to budge. After a heated argument, he forcefully sought a discharge and left the hospital.

The man argued that a cord from the belly button of the child will provide the required nutrition.

The hospital authorities say that he denied a baby of its right. We repeatedly asked him to allow the baby to be breastfed, but he refused to budge.

We did everything possible to convince him, but he was adamant, a nurse from the hospital said. The father cited what his preacher had told him. He was told by his preacher that the baby should not be breastfed until the completion of five prayers.

OneIndia News