Anti-Vax Ohio ‘Holistic’ Mom Says State Took Away Newborn Twins Because She Wouldn’t Give Them Formula

An Ohio mother of seven claims that the state took her newborn children away because she wouldn’t give them formula.

The state, however, says that the woman was acting erratically, while her children were losing dangerous amounts of weight.

Lasha Cauthen first took her two infants to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital on January 31, to “establish care with a primary care provider,” the mother told WXIX.

Cauthen describes herself as “holistic” – she was vegan throughout her pregnancy, did not vaccinate her children or “use any modern medications unless necessary,” according to WXIX.

During the initial doctor’s appointment, the physician became concerned that Cauthen’s children had lost weight between their births and the checkup. 

Court records allege that Cauthen’s baby girl was 6.8 pounds at birth, 6.3 pounds when she was initially discharged from the hospital and 5.8 during the checkup ten days later. Her new son weighed 7 pounds at birth, 6.7 pounds at discharge and 5.9 pounds during the checkup, according to WXIX.

The primary care doctor recommended that Cauthen have her infants admitted to the hospital for monitoring.

“I declined, and I explained to her that I don’t have to. They are my children, and you will be violating my rights if you force that upon me,” Cauthen told WXIX.

“She said, ‘I’ll give you an option of coming back in a few days to be weighed.’ I told her, ‘I have a scale, and I will do it on my own by myself.’”

Hamilton County Job and Family Services (JFS) records indicate that a report was filed expressing concerns about the infants’ “failure to thrive,” on the day of the checkup.

Three days after the appointment, Cauthen said that she started working with a lactation consultant. Within a few days, both the children reportedly began gaining weight. Cauthen was supposed to bring her children to the hospital for a weight check – but was unable to make either of the scheduled check-ins, according to WXIX.

After arriving too late for the second check-in, JFS contacted Cauthen and told her that they had an order to remove the infants from her home. She told the officials that she would meet them at the hospital with her infants.

“My babies had indeed gained weight. Yet the doctors still say, ‘Well, no, we want them to gain even more weight. We want to put them on a formula,’ she told WXIX. 

“I’m against [formula.] We are a vegan household. My babies, my pregnancy was a vegan pregnancy, and everything came out healthy babies.”

While Cauthen was speaking with JFS officials at the hospital, one of her childrens’ fathers contacted her and said that officials were going to remove her other children as well.

“I’m distraught here in this moment. I’m not understanding what is going on. I don’t even understand how they’re legally able to kidnap our children,” she told WXIX.

Cauthen said that she panicked and called a suicide hotline from the hospital room. She said that she had a “casual” conversation with the hotline operator, during which she admitted to owning a gun.

The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital was placed on lockdown after Cauthen called the hotline. Several police officers then entered Cauthen’s room and told her to put her baby down. She was held for a mental health evaluation and was cleared after 12 hours, according to WXIX.

In the ensuing ten months, Cauthen has not regained custody of her children. In May, officials said that Cauthen had discussed “inappropriate” topics with her children during supervised visitations and showed up at their school – prompting further concerns about her mental health.

She has another hearing scheduled for December 20 – in the meantime, she is only allowed supervised visitation with the children.