Mom Loses Custody of Baby After Eating Salad
Jul 19, 2011 16:38:28 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Jul 19, 2011 16:38:28 GMT -5
Mother 'lost custody of newborn when she failed opiate test - after eating poppy seed salad dressing'
By Fiona Roberts
Last updated at 3:51 PM on 19th July 2011
A mother in Pennsylvania had her newborn baby boy taken away from her after she failed a drugs test - because she had eaten a poppy seed salad dressing, her lawyer claims.
Child protection workers took custody of Eileen Bower's two-day-old son, Brandon, after hospital staff found trace amounts of opium in her blood on the day she gave birth.
Now she is suing Jameson Hospital and the Lawrence County Department of Children and Youth Services, saying she doesn't want any more women to face the same ordeal.
Ordeal: Eileen Bower's two-day-old son was taken away from her after she tested positive for opiates - because she ate poppy seeds
Ordeal: Eileen Bower's two-day-old son was taken away from her after she tested positive for opiates - because she ate poppy seeds
She's the second mother in less than a year to take legal action against the two organisations.
Elizabeth Mort filed a lawsuit last October after she lost custody of her little girl when she failed the same test - because she ate an everything bagel.
Miss Bower's son, Brandon, was taken away from her just two days after he was born, on July 13, 2009.
Under Pennsylvania law, all new mothers are routinely tested for drugs. Her results came back showing trace amounts of opiates.
Miss Bower said: 'They told me they would be taking my son. For someone to tell me I'm an unfit mother, I take drugs, was really kind of damaging.'
It took 75 days for Miss Bower to get her son back, during which time he stayed with three different foster families.
Anguish: Eileen Bower's son, Brandon, has been deeply affected after being taken away from his mother at just two-days-old
Her lawyer, Stanley T. Booker, said: 'There were only trace amounts of opiates -- they couldn't even put a range on the amount.'
Mr Booker said the only thing that could have caused the test result was a linguine salad she ate at barbecue on the day she went into labour, which had a poppy seed dressing.
Brandon has been deeply affected by his time in foster care, Mr Booker claims.
He said: 'He is very clingy to her. He screams and cries when she leaves the room. She doesn't want other families to go through the nightmare she went through.'
Miss Bower said: 'To know somebody else is raising my son, somebody else is feeding him, somebody else is bathing him, dressing him, being what they want him to be - it was very hard.'
The following year Miss Mort went through the same ordeal after her baby daughter, Isabella, was taken away shortly after she was born in April.
Lawsuit: Elizabeth Mort is also suing, after her daughter, Isabella, was taken away from her - because she ate an everything bagel
The 21-year-old said: 'This was devastating on our whole family. I held her for a few minutes, and they took her and left. I was devastated. I just cried and cried and cried.'
She said when the children's department came to her house, she had to ask what opiates were - she didn't even realise they meant drugs.
It turned out she had eaten an everything bagel just before giving birth to Isabella, which produced the positive result.
Her little girl was returned five days later, but last October Miss Mort decided to sue the hospital and the Department of Children and Youth Services.
In the lawsuit, she said: 'The best thing in my life had been taken from me and there was nothing I could do to get her back. When she was gone our family was just at a loss of words...
'It felt like our heart was ripped in pieces... The most important person was missing and we didn't know when we would see her again.'
Policy: The two women are both suing Jameson Hospital in New Castle. Staff pass any positive drug tests on to child protection services
Policy: The two women are both suing Jameson Hospital in New Castle. Staff pass any positive drug tests on to child protection services
In a statement, the hospital said: 'Our hearts go out to Elizabeth Mort and her family. We hope that she appreciates the importance of our obligation to protect children.'
Experts said it was unusual, but not impossible, for eating poppy seeds to cause a positive result.
Bruce Goldberger, director of toxicology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, said: 'A positive blood test is more than likely not from consuming poppy seeds, but it's not out of the question.'
But he emphasised it didn't mean there was an illegal drug present, either.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2016446/Eileen-Bower-lost-custody-newborn-failed-opiate-test.html#ixzz1SacDz5x3
By Fiona Roberts
Last updated at 3:51 PM on 19th July 2011
A mother in Pennsylvania had her newborn baby boy taken away from her after she failed a drugs test - because she had eaten a poppy seed salad dressing, her lawyer claims.
Child protection workers took custody of Eileen Bower's two-day-old son, Brandon, after hospital staff found trace amounts of opium in her blood on the day she gave birth.
Now she is suing Jameson Hospital and the Lawrence County Department of Children and Youth Services, saying she doesn't want any more women to face the same ordeal.
Ordeal: Eileen Bower's two-day-old son was taken away from her after she tested positive for opiates - because she ate poppy seeds
Ordeal: Eileen Bower's two-day-old son was taken away from her after she tested positive for opiates - because she ate poppy seeds
She's the second mother in less than a year to take legal action against the two organisations.
Elizabeth Mort filed a lawsuit last October after she lost custody of her little girl when she failed the same test - because she ate an everything bagel.
Miss Bower's son, Brandon, was taken away from her just two days after he was born, on July 13, 2009.
Under Pennsylvania law, all new mothers are routinely tested for drugs. Her results came back showing trace amounts of opiates.
Miss Bower said: 'They told me they would be taking my son. For someone to tell me I'm an unfit mother, I take drugs, was really kind of damaging.'
It took 75 days for Miss Bower to get her son back, during which time he stayed with three different foster families.
Anguish: Eileen Bower's son, Brandon, has been deeply affected after being taken away from his mother at just two-days-old
Her lawyer, Stanley T. Booker, said: 'There were only trace amounts of opiates -- they couldn't even put a range on the amount.'
Mr Booker said the only thing that could have caused the test result was a linguine salad she ate at barbecue on the day she went into labour, which had a poppy seed dressing.
Brandon has been deeply affected by his time in foster care, Mr Booker claims.
He said: 'He is very clingy to her. He screams and cries when she leaves the room. She doesn't want other families to go through the nightmare she went through.'
Miss Bower said: 'To know somebody else is raising my son, somebody else is feeding him, somebody else is bathing him, dressing him, being what they want him to be - it was very hard.'
The following year Miss Mort went through the same ordeal after her baby daughter, Isabella, was taken away shortly after she was born in April.
Lawsuit: Elizabeth Mort is also suing, after her daughter, Isabella, was taken away from her - because she ate an everything bagel
The 21-year-old said: 'This was devastating on our whole family. I held her for a few minutes, and they took her and left. I was devastated. I just cried and cried and cried.'
She said when the children's department came to her house, she had to ask what opiates were - she didn't even realise they meant drugs.
It turned out she had eaten an everything bagel just before giving birth to Isabella, which produced the positive result.
Her little girl was returned five days later, but last October Miss Mort decided to sue the hospital and the Department of Children and Youth Services.
In the lawsuit, she said: 'The best thing in my life had been taken from me and there was nothing I could do to get her back. When she was gone our family was just at a loss of words...
'It felt like our heart was ripped in pieces... The most important person was missing and we didn't know when we would see her again.'
Policy: The two women are both suing Jameson Hospital in New Castle. Staff pass any positive drug tests on to child protection services
Policy: The two women are both suing Jameson Hospital in New Castle. Staff pass any positive drug tests on to child protection services
In a statement, the hospital said: 'Our hearts go out to Elizabeth Mort and her family. We hope that she appreciates the importance of our obligation to protect children.'
Experts said it was unusual, but not impossible, for eating poppy seeds to cause a positive result.
Bruce Goldberger, director of toxicology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, said: 'A positive blood test is more than likely not from consuming poppy seeds, but it's not out of the question.'
But he emphasised it didn't mean there was an illegal drug present, either.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2016446/Eileen-Bower-lost-custody-newborn-failed-opiate-test.html#ixzz1SacDz5x3
