Mum shamed and denied food for bottle feeding her baby
A Brisbane mother has been left feeling "devastated, guilty and enraged" after being targeted by a controversial rule after she took her baby to the emergency room.
It was the middle of the night when Sarah Stoddart's 12-week-old daughter became extremely unwell.
The baby, who Sarah had decided to bottle feed, was vomiting and running a temperature, prompting her worried mother to take her to the emergency department of Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane's north.
Things started to go wrong for Sarah when she was handed a "welcome sheet" after arriving at the hospital.
"They had circled and brought to my attention that only breastfeeding mothers were entitled to meals," she told Nine News.
"First of all [it] made me feel devastated and guilty but then quite enraged, that is a decision that is being made in this country and this state in 2023."
Furious, Ms Stoddart claims staff eventually told her that they could "make an exception" and would "sneak through an approval" so that she could get fed.
According to Sarah, her partner was at home looking after the couple's other kids, and the whole ordeal left her feeling guilty over a decision that was made for the health of their child.
She added that mothers are "already struggling with enough" in the first trimester and "don't need the judgement from the government as to how they chose to feed their child".
After speaking out about her treatment at the hospital and raising the issue with Metro North Health, the hospital has changed their policy.
"The Prince Charles Hospital now provides meals to parents of children six months and under who are admitted into our care," Prince Charles Hospital said in a statement.
"Parents of all patients admitted to the Paediatric Ward at The Prince Charles Hospital have access to food, water, tea and coffee. Further paid options, including fresh food vending machines, cafes and a stocked fridge, are accessible 24hrs a day."
Queensland's Health Minister Shannon Fentiman she would work with other hospitals across the state to ensure a similar scenario does not occur again.
"It shouldn't really matter whether you are breastfeeding or not, it should be about trying to make our parents who are doing the best they can to look after their sick kids as comfortable as possible," she said.
Image credits: Nine News