It is very sad that alot of people don't know proper infant feeding clues or cues. I have probably 2 or more cases per month of babies who are not being fed enough and the weight loss is too great. Many parents tell me they thought the baby was doing ok. Yet once we get enough calories down the baby and the behavior changes to truly normal (alert, happy, growing, sleeping less, less crying), the parents all say feeding more makes a huge positive difference in their baby. 

Just last week I had  3 cases of parents not feeding a newborn enough with serious weight loss concerns. One situation was really scary because the parents were feeding less 2 days later. Another family thought the newborn's hunger cues were colic!

I also work with several 2-4 month old babies per year that are 3-4 pounds underweight by the time they see me. 

Here is the flip side: at our WIC moms often think their babies are not nursing well (especially with overabundant milk supply) and when we weigh them and mom is reassured that the weight gain is good enough then these moms stop that extra bottle of formula used daily. 

I do appreciate the idea that a "rush to judgement" might possibly mean unnecessary formula usage. Inaccurate scales could possibly be a problem but hopefully the IBCLC has an accurate one!

Kathy Eng, BSW, IBCLC

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