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The fact that the mother is drunk...puts the baby at risk...she could drop the baby, step on the baby, abuse the baby, forget the baby, leave the baby unattended, fall asleep leaving the baby in danger, trip and fall on the baby...etc...etc...etc. In other words don't be drinking if you are responsible for the life of a small, helpless child...no way...no how!

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Police responding to a domestic disturbance arrived at Stacey Anvarinia's home to find the mother breast-feeding her 6-week-old baby in front of them. And she was drunk, they said.

Officers arrested the woman, who later pleaded guilty to child neglect and faces up to five years in prison. Now her case has touched off a debate among moms about breast-feeding, alcohol — and privacy.

Since Anvarinia's arrest, blogs have been abuzz with comments questioning whether breast-feeding mothers could risk criminal charges if they drink even modest amounts. Authorities insist police were right to make the arrest, even if the mother had not been breast-feeding, out of concern for the child's welfare.

"Since when is breast-feeding while drunk a crime?" said Dr. Amy Tuteur, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist in Boston who has been following the case on her Web site, the Skeptical OB.

If the 26-year-old woman had been bottle-feeding her baby, "no one would have bothered to check what was in the bottle," Tuteur said. "You can do a lot more damage by mixing formula wrong."

Medical research on alcohol and breast-feeding is murky, mainly because the issue is difficult to study. Researchers cannot ethically conduct controlled research on intoxicated women who breast-feed. So doctors rely on anecdotal evidence.

The breast-feeding advocacy group La Leche League International advises women to nurse their children only when "completely sober."

In published advice to mothers, the group says: "Drinking to the point of intoxication, or binge drinking, by breast-feeding mothers has not been adequately studied. Since all of the risks are not understood, drinking to the point of intoxication is not advised."

The American Academy of Pediatrics says excessive alcohol consumption by a breast-feeding mother can lead to drowsiness, deep sleep, weakness and abnormal weight gain in an infant.

Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, who helps oversee breast-feeding policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the group considers limited alcohol consumption compatible with breast-feeding.