Shropshire Star

Facebook reinstates Shropshire mother breastfeeding photo

It was one of the most important moments in Emma Bond's life and in the perilous life of her tiny daughter.

Published

After being born at 28 weeks, weighing 2lb 5oz, Carene, at just three days old, was so poorly in the special baby care unit at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital that Emma, of Oswestry, was told she might not survive the night.

Emma Bond with a photo of her four-week-old daughter Carene Esme Kitchen

So just three weeks later when the little girl was strong enough to breast feed for the first time, rather than being fed through a tube, her mother was so thrilled she shared the moment on her Facebook page.

But after one person who saw the photo complained to the social networking site, Facebook took it down.

It was a decision that upset 24-year-old Emma so much that she shared the news with a breast feeding support group on Facebook.

The post went viral with almost 30,000 shares and a massive 234,194 likes, supporting Emma's view that the photo was not in bad taste. Now, after reviewing the decision to remove the photo, Facebook seems to have had a change of heart.

Emma said: "My son Luca was born at 32 weeks so I knew some of the problems but Luca didn't need as much help as Carena does.

"She had a bleed in her lungs at three days and her dad, Ashley and I were told to expect the worst and that she may not last the night.

"But with her determination and the wonderful staff in the special baby care unit, who really did save her life, she is now doing well.

"Premature babies do not have the sucking reflex until about 34 weeks. So for Carene to be doing so well that I was able to breast feed her at 31 weeks was so important to me, it was a wonderful moment.

"Only those people who are on my friends list would have seen the photo and I only have friends that I know. Although 99 per cent of my friends were fully supportive of the photograph one decided to take offence and reported the photo to Facebook.

"It was never my intention to cause offence."

Many mothers posted their own photos of feeding their babies in support of Emma.

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