To all,

Don't know how my post about the TODAY show got lumped into a "doctor bashing" category, but I would like to go on record as saying that I deeply appreciate the monumental contributions that both Drs. Niefert and Lawrence have made to our profession.  One of the great things about living in Rochester is having someone like Ruth Lawrence so close at hand.  She has always generously given of her time to both LLL and to professional organizations.  Rather than trying to bash her, I was trying to point out that her views about co-sleeping, at the time I heard her speak on this subject, were based on the long hours she had spend through the years with many, many couples with babies and young children. It's all well and good for a new mom to go to a meeting and hear that the family bed is the only way to go if you are going to breastfeed your baby.  But it's the pediatrician who will most likely have to deal with the fallout months later when the mom is desperate to get even one good night's sleep with a baby who nurses constantly throughout the night (this is not meant to get any thread started on managing the family bed - been there, done that, as many of us have). I think that babies sleeping through the night is still one of the biggest "problems" that new parents face (or think that they face) and they look to their pediatricians for support and solutions.  Actually, I have no problem with doctors or anyone else giving moms tips on how to gently help their babies back to sleep without having to feed them 4, 5, 6.....times a night.  What surprised me was the time frames given, that by 3 months of age most babies should be sleeping 7 hours a night, again with the caveat that bf babies may not sleep quite as long (just got this directly from the TODAY Show site so that I would get my info correct).  Also, that babies who are crying should be comforted, but not picked up.  Babies should be put down when they are not yet asleep.  I think that those who are advocating a different way of approaching night sleep need to know what kind of information is out there and where it is coming from.  The fact is, none of us are going to agree on everything, in fact, we may disagree on some very big points.  That doesn't mean that we should lose respect for one another or the body of knowledge that many have gathered through the years.  Likewise, I don't think it is productive to nitpik to death every little magazine article or advertisement that doesn't portray breastfeeding in the most advantageous way or the way that "we" consider to be correct - after all, "we" seem to disagree fairly frequently on what is the most correct way to do a lot of things.  Sometimes it is a very thin line between advocacy and self-righteousness.

That's it for me on this subject.  If anyone takes great issue with anything I have written here, I would be happy to correspond privately.



Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, BSMT, ASCP, IBCLC
Newark, NY (near Rochester on Lake Ontario)
mailto:[log in to unmask]

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