Circuit Judge Ann Einhorn ruled against the mother, after a four-hour hearing during which attorneys for the mother and for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services argued about the fate of the child.
Illinois child welfare officials argued that the mother, a 32-year-old part-time liquor store clerk, was abusing her son by insisting that he still be breast-fed.
DCFS officials intervened earlier this year when the child was still 5. A neighbor informed the state in July that the boy was being breast-fed, even though he reportedly had told his mother he no longer wished to do so.
"He indicated during the investigation that he did not want it to continue," said Deborah Kennedy, a DCFS administrator.
The mother says the boy never indicated he did not want to breast feed, and she said she believed in letting her child make the decision, regardless of how old he is.
"I've been nominated to join that exclusive sorority of breast-feeding mothers who are accused of abusing their child by practicing a nurturant behavior," the mother said.
WICD-TV reported Einhorn said she did not believe that breast feeding was in his best interest at that age. She refused the mother's request to immediately return custody of the boy to her and scheduled a hearing for Dec. 27 to determine the long-term fate of the boy.
DCFS officials would not comment on Einhorn's ruling. But the agency said its investigation of the boy's situation also found that the mother slept nude with the boy on at least one recent occasion.
The mother told the Chicago Tribune she stopped doing that after her son once looked over at her one morning and told her to "put some clothes on."
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