Absolutely Cathy! We need some guidelines to protect growth.
Especially since I believe babies will indeed be content to starve if
no interventions to feed them are taken.  I see it too often...the 3
week old not back to birthweight and sleeping long stretches, rarely
crying, etc.  Of course we also have so many babes born with
interventions too and who knows what that does to their instinctive
behaviors.  I often tell mothers their babies are pure biology with no
concept of culture and so we need to be patient as they learn the
constraints culture puts on their biology.

Since if we are seeing a baby there is a problem, we do need something
to let us know we are not compromising the baby by not being sure they
receive enough nutrition.  This is why when there is a serious weight
gain issue, I prefer moms to use a scale at home for a few days.  My
snapshot of a single feeding is not enough to know the baby's pattern
of intake.  I totally respect that the concept of measure and scales
are more a USA issue, but I cannot change that cultural reality.  Like
Cathy points out our culture permeates our child care practices and in
my area, measure is important.

Best,
Pam MazzellaDiBosco, IBCLC, RLC

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