Help! I have been charged for Breastfeeding my baby and using the hard shoulder of the motorway to do so?

I am due in court in 5 weeks. I have spoken to a solicitor and I have been told there is not much I can do to prevent this charge going through. I have a 6 week old baby and I stopped on the motorway as she was crying. I am a first time single mum and unfortunately after a while of my baby crying I start producing breast milk automatically. I did plan extra rest stops on out journey and I thought she was ok as I had stopped the previous hour. I tried singing to her, playing some music to her but nothing helped. It got a bit distressing and the services were not far (I recall they were around 10 miles away). I know it is not right to stop on the motorway but it was really stressing me out. I know some babies can get very upset and hold their breath when they are crying. My baby’s face had gone bright red and I guess out of fear for that really I decided to stop even though I know the hard shoulder is meant for an emergency. (Q continues in details…
Additional Details
I stopped and breastfed my baby. This stopped her crying immediately. I am guessing maybe she was dehydrated as we have had warm weather in the U.K recently. Unfortunately whilst all this was going on I did not realize that there was a police patrol car a few cars behind me which decided to stop. In a nutshell the police officer was not impressed that I had stopped so close to the next service station and also that I had taken my top off as my shirt was soaked as I had produced a lot of breast milk when my baby was crying.I have also been told by my solicitor that it is likely that the press will publish the story in the press as they are allowed to sit in on Magistrates courts hearings. I don't want all this for my baby or me. What can I do

Thinker

Take your crying baby to court. See if the judge can concentrate on what's happening or if he tells you to feed the baby. If he does that you've got him right where you want him.......

andy_manc_uk

Just tell the court what you said here, they may show leniency but dont hold your breath, its not the end of the world though is it ?

thebestnamesarealreadytaken0909

First breast feeding is natural and is great for both mum and child. But in this instance the safety of both mum and child was put in danger.
in short, the hard shoulder is for emergency only. you should have continued on to the nearest motorway services and fed the child there. then you would not be in this mess now.
sadly you are or were in the wrong to stop on the hard shoulder. not only that it is not a safe place to stop, that is why it is for emergency use only.
remeber it could have been a fatal mistake, if say a truck or other driver had lost concentration and drifted into /onto the hard shoulder you and your child could have been killed.
i understrand your point of view on the auto response of producing breast milk, but the fact remains you were in the wrong.
if in doubt just stop at each and every single rest area and attempt a feed.
If the services as you say were only ten miles away and your daughter was still making a noise then you should have continued on to the services. at 40 MPH you would have been at the services within 15 minutes.
if your daughter had stopped breathing then you should and could have stopped on the hard shoulder and called for help and while waiting you could have begun CPR after getting the both of you out of the car and up on to the grass embankment away from your car because of the risk detailed above.
yo have to pleasd guilty as charged and appologise for stopping where you did. you have to say your a first time mum and you wrere just worried for your child. you then admit to the lapse in judgment of after finding the child was fine, instead of doing the sensible thing of continuing to the next service rest stop you chose to feed your child on the hard shoulder.
bright red is nothing to worry about anyway. starting to turn blue (lack of oxygen) is the time to start worrying.

you said you know you were in the wrong to stop. so as most have said just admit this and with a little luck you will either get a small fine and a few points on your licence or in the worst possible case jail time.

Gooner44

As you are in the UK, I have a feeling that the hearing will go in your favour, just as long as you keep the story straight and try not to think that the authorities are being unfair. See the law clearly defines the hard-shoulder of the road to be used for emergencies, you acted too hastily, there will be a fine invovled, I would advise not to take your baby on these long drives without some other adult to help out, being a single mother can be very demanding and I think the Judge will respect that condition. Don't fret about. I think you went through some tense times on that drive, but that's over and you and baby are safe, take extra care on further drives. Okay the fine might be around 250 pounds, a friend of mine had parked on the hard shoulder some where near Coventry to answer a call on her mobile, this was around 3 years ago, I am guessing the fine rates wouldn't have changed that much.

Donna M

You should never stop on the hard shoulder for anything other than emergencies.

I know it feels like it to a new mum, but a crying hungry baby is not an emergency.

I'm not trying to be nasty - but I don't really think you have a defence.

But good luck.

gtoacp

I doubt you were "charged" with feeding a baby. What you were doing stopped on the motorway probably has nothing to do with the charges. You are using the baby as your excuse. If I was the judge I would throw the book at you. You endangered many many lives out there for your own personal gain and that of your child. That does not make an emergency and is no reason to endanger my life.

mags

Get in touch with your local newspaper ....tell them what happened .....watch what happens from there.....i bet you get a lot of public support. Good luck

CIVILIAN

sounds like a small kind traffic violation ,as stopping on shoulder of road for any reason is in question, the baby's fine also sounds like the good oll law of anyland is to just want your moneys,give it too them if you must but you have comited no big offence.

Loss Leader

I really have no advice for you other than to say that crying really isn't dangerous for babies. They don't hold their breath and even if they did, they couldn't hurt themselves. They'd start breathing automatically if their bodies demanded it.

norman7774

charged for breastfeeding.. doubtful but for illegal parking on a roadside.. yes.. Why did you not park at a rest stop or someplace OFF of the main road?? that was not smart on your part.

kez

that is outrageous, mothers who breastfeed are picked on consistently here in the Uk, despite the fact you were on the hardshoulder you should still not be charged, if this does endup in the press, i think it could belucky for you because many mothers like myself will support you, believe me, have you thought of contacting the national breastfeeding association or some similar group, they will provide support and advice. and it could be good to have theire support publicly. whatever happens goodluck you will be ok i think, if you are prosecuted then that is an infringement of human rights to you and your baby, i realy wish you well. take care kerry.

migelito

I agree you will not avoid a penalty for this. Apart from the fact that it was less than 10 minutes to the next services, it was a very dangerous thing to do. By the way, you wont be caharged with breastfeeding as this is not a crime but you will be charged with stopping on the hard shoulder without due cause.

CurlyQ

At first I took this seriously but when you said you had taken your top off because it was hot, the bells began to ring.

Secondly, you would have had to take off your own seat belt and undo the restraints on the baby.

The police car was only a few cars behind! How did you manage all that before they arrived?

What makes you believe an appearance in a magistrates court will not be reported in the press?

Had you told the police officers you pulled over because you were too distraught to drive they would have acted differently.

The whole story is too incredible.

Bob The Builder

Hard shoulder for emergency only.. Not for feeding baby...

James c

what were u thinking! u not only but your own life in danger but that of your baby. The judge should be harsh with you so you learn a lesson. the hard shoulder is only if u breakdown!
U could have pulled off at any junction then stopped.

Blah Blah Blah

Call the local press. Seriously. You will have media out there, causing a bit of a frenzy hype, and you can probably get the fines lowered or even dropped. Call the media immediatly... they love this kind of stuff. The more media coverage the better.

sarah c

Plead guilty, and apologise and mean it.
You could have caused an accident and got you both killed. While you were thinking of your baby, you were not thinking of the traffic and the danger. You sat there on the hard shoulder with your shirt off feeding your baby. Just accept it was the wrong thing to do and face the consequences.

ogenglishman

That's a tough one, do not take your solicitors advice as being rock solid.

If you document your full account of what happened, explained your anxieties and the situation, as above with more detail if possible.

The judge is free to dispence with your charge if he think you made a good case, or your intentions did not actually cause a problem.

Never give up when it comes to the Law.

Remember sometimes the police do not even turn up and you'll be aquitted without trial.

HelpOneAnother

I nursed my two babies for over a year, so I understand completely what you were feeling when your baby kept crying. However, you put yourselves in grave danger stopping on the motorway. Crying won't kill her, so you should have kept driving to the next stop. Ten miles wouldn't have taken more than 10 more minutes. Remember, you're the decision maker, not the crying baby.

I am a serving Police Officer but traffic offences aren't my area of expertise. However, the offence is complete. You stopped on the hard shoulder when you shouldn't have. But everything you have listed is clear mitigation. A judge will hear the mitigation and if they agree with you then you will get a vastly reduced penalty. But don't worry it's not the most serious offence in the world. You will be fine!

pebs

im sorry but you put the lives of you and your baby at risk not to mention the other road users. you should not park on the hardshoulder unless it is an emergency, i can understand that being a first time mum it would be stressful listening to your baby crying, but that is better than both of you being seriously hurt or killed. i totally sympathise with you and wish you good luck in court.

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