Baby dies after breastfeeding on drunk mother’s milk

The Russian Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the death of a four-month-old baby that allegedly died after being poisoned by the alcohol-loaded milk of his drunk mother in Saransk, Siberia. The 28-year-old mother, who has a severe drinking problem, reportedly drank half a liter of pure alcohol mixed with water, and then breastfed her baby son three times before sobering up. The next morning, the child was found dead in his bed, RIA Novosti reports.

“The child’s death was caused by acute ethanol poisoning,” a spokesman for the local Baikal Investigative Committee said. “The mother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.”

The woman had gone on a drinking spree well before the tragic accident. She may be facing up to two years in prison.

A report issued last week by the Moscow Ombudsman for Children’s Rights revealed that Russian children are having their first experiences of alcohol at a younger age and in ever greater numbers. Last year, the report said, 5,865 people, including 19 parents, were arrested for providing alcohol or other intoxicants to minors. That figure is up by more than 1000 from the previous year.

According to Russia’s state statistics agency, an average of 40,000 people die in Russia of alcohol poisoning every year.