Mom Of Preemie Reacts To Having Her Breastfeeding Photo Removed From Facebook

When 24-year-old Emma Bond gave birth to her daughter Carene 12 weeks before her due date, doctors told her that the baby wouldn't live more than three days. Born on October 3, Carene weighed only 2 lb 2 oz, The Daily Mail reports.

Needless to say, the Welsh mother and her partner Ashley Kitchen were overjoyed as Carene's health improved, exceeding the doctors' expectations. After 12 days, Bond learned that she would be able to breastfeed her newborn. The mom was so happy about this turn of events, she decided to share a photo of herself breastfeeding Carene with friends and family on her Facebook page .

"Two weeks prior to this being taken, I was told my daughter would die, so to then find yourself able to breastfeed was an incredible step," Bond told The Daily Mail . "It was more than just 'Hey look at me. My baby can feed,'" she said during an interview with BBC News . "It was a moment of getting this chance we were told we wouldn't get."

But the same day Bond posted the photo, she received a notification that Facebook had removed it, citing an anonymous complaint about nudity.

The mom then uploaded the photo to a breastfeeding support group, where it got over 250,000 likes and thousands of shares from "mums all over the world," she told BBC News . But Facebook also removed that image and deleted the sharers' links as well.

Outraged, hundreds of users issued complaints to Facebook until the photo was reinstated, though the company never apologized to Bond directly. A Facebook Representative told The Huffington Post that they would not provide a comment on this specific incident but pointed out that their community standards policy allows for breastfeeding photos. In fact, Facebook updated that policy earlier this year to give more emphasis to context with regard to breastfeeding and mastectomy photos to show fully exposed breasts.

This policy change marks a big step for Facebook, which has a history of issues with breastfeeding photo removals. Back in 2012, the founders of a "Respect the Breast" Facebook page were angered to learn that several photos had been removed from their page. That same year, mom and breastfeeding advocate Emma Kwasnica organized a nurse-in in front of Facebook headquarters after her account was suspended multiple times for "inappropriate" photos she'd posted of herself nursing her children.

But even with updated guidelines, it seems issues persist.

As for baby Carene, Bond told BBC News she hopes her daughter will be home by Christmas. "She's determined and she's got a strong will to live."

H/T Buzzfeed

Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact HuffPost Parents