My Husband Let His Sister Breastfeed Our Newborn, the Truth Is Far More Disturbing

Once you give birth, you realize that you’ll do anything it takes to protect your baby from harm’s way. You need to trust whoever’s around you to ensure their safety and health. But, in this case, a woman’s husband failed to care for their baby when he crossed a serious boundary.

I trusted my husband to handle the baby.

She opens up, saying, “One night, I was very tired, so my husband offered to handle the baby. When I woke up, I found my sister-in-law breastfeeding our son. It felt like a nightmare.

I confronted her and snatched the baby from her. I went to my husband, but he took her side and said, ‘He was crying and that was the only way to quiet him,’ and that she was just helping.”

It was even worse than I imagined.

“But it wasn’t help, it was a violation. She wasn’t even lactating. So I took the baby and went to my mom’s house.

That’s when my mom revealed the truth: she had a miscarriage a few years ago and was still trying to cope with the trauma. And she’d dry-nursed my newborn to try to ‘stimulate milk flow.’

I was horrified. I filed for divorce. No one in his family took it seriously. But I’ll never forget what he allowed.”

Keep your distance from your husband.

Thank you for sharing your story with us. What happened to you is a breach of trust and boundaries in lots of ways. You have every right to feel angry and disgusted by your husband and sister-in-law’s actions. This is a time to move and surround yourself with people you actually trust, like your mom and friends.

Your SIL’s actions were completely out of line.

What your sister-in-law did was, like you mentioned, a profound violation of your baby’s safety and your trust as a mother. Breastfeeding (or attempting to) someone else’s baby without consent is highly unethical.

A serious step forward.

Filing for divorce is a strong response to what happened. Your husband’s refusal to take this seriously shows a lack of judgment. Nonetheless, you may want to weigh that decision for a few weeks at least by going through a separation first.

Consider this, has your husband ever done something like this before? Will he realize his mistake and show remorse during that period of separation? These are all things worth considering before finalizing a divorce.

Many mothers would react the same way in your situation. No one has the right to undermine your motherhood, especially your husband. There are many harsh realities when experiencing motherhood that even the biggest stars go through.