Writing expert reports for court in relation to breastfeeding infants and young children

Courts can be placed in the position where they are required to make decisions that have an impact on the care of breastfed infants and young children. These decisions can support or undermine the rights of children to breastfeeding and to human milk. Over the last decade or so I have provided expert reports to court in a number of Australian and overseas jurisdictions on the needs and rights of breastfed children. Two such cases have been published (Gribble & Gallagher, 2014). I have seen these reports have an impact on decision making to the benefit of children. There is a need for more individuals who understand breastfeeding and its value, to provide expert reports to courts. In this Insights into Practice and Policy article I will describe my experience and views regarding expert reports in the hope that this will empower others to provide expert reports. Not all of this article will be applicable everywhere but I hope that it will be helpful nonetheless. In this paper, “mother” refers to the female biological parent of a child and “woman” to a person of the female sex.