Mom thrown in jail after waitress reported her for breastfeeding while drinking has defended her decision to have a beer
- Tasha Adams says she did have two drinks but was sober enough to feed her baby girl
- Charges against 28-year-old are dropped over lack of evidence that she had endangered a child
An Arkansas mother who was arrested in a restaurant for breastfeeding her baby after having two beers has defended her decision to have a drink.
Mother-of-three Tasha Adams had been at a Conway restaurant with her family for dinner in November when an off-duty waitress reported her to police for consuming alcohol.
Adams, 28, was arrested for child endangerment and taken to jail, and her six-month-old baby Ana was left in the care of her family.
Defense: Tasha Adams says despite having two drinks she was sober enough to care for and feed her baby
Caring: Mother-of-three Tasha Adams, pictured with her husband and baby girl, Ana
Charges against Adams were dropped last week because there wasn't enough evidence to prove she had been too drunk to care for her child.
But the 28-year-old told ABC's 20/20 she wishes the police had given her a breathalyzer test at the restaurant to prove she hadn't endangered her baby.
'If I’m drunk, I feel, you know, that I’m not able to take care of my kids,' Adams said. 'I wish they would’ve given me a breathalyzer so it could be proven.'
Adams, a florist from Toad Suck, had stopped off at the Gusano's Pizzeria in Conway after attending a funeral with her parents.
She ordered two beers with her meal, which she drank slowly over nearly two hours.
'Some people I'm sure can drink two beers and get buzzed or drunk. I can't,' she said in an interview, due to be broadcast on ABC this Friday.
Adams added that she did drink and breastfeed, but said: 'I didn't know it was illegal. If I knew it was illegal, I wouldn't have done it.'
However, a waitress who had stopped at the restaurant for a staff meeting, was shocked to see a nursing mom who had been drinking.
Arrest: Charges of endangering a child were dropped against Adams, seen here in her booking photo
Jackie Conners reported Adams to the restaurant's management, and then contacted police when no action was taken.
Conners, who has a young child of her own, lost her job shortly after reporting Adams to police, but said if she would do it again if faced with the same situation.
'Even if I knew my job was on the line and it was right around the holidays, I would still do it again,' she told 20/20.
A manager at Gusanao’s said last year that Conners was not fired for reporting the customer, but declined to give more information on the matter.
Reported: Tasha Adams, pictured with her baby, left, was arrested after Jackie Conners, right, called police
Adams says that while she knows she was sober enough to care for and feed her baby, she can understand why Conners reacted in the way she did.
'Whether it was right or wrong in my eyes is different, you know, but if she really thought my baby was in danger, you know, maybe she done the right thing,' Adams said.
Arkansas law doesn't ban drinking and breastfeeding, and experts say little research has been done on whether it does affect a nursing child.
Dr Jennifer Ashton said: 'Moderate consumption, which really means once and a while to consume a drink, probably will not do any harm for the baby.
'But we have to remember that alcohol is a toxin. It’s especially toxic to the newborn's brain, to the developing brain.'
Scientists have not yet determined how much alcohol is found in a mother's milk, but women are advised to either use a breast pump before having a drink, or switching to formula for a few hours.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2590039/Mom-thrown-jail-waitress-reported-breastfeeding-drinking-defended-decision-beer.html#ixzz2x9fzQtV3
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