Anne,
You have highlighted one of my pet peeves with Ezzo. <g>

I think that what the commenters from the list mean is not that Ezzo
actually opposes breastfeeding, but that his breastfeeding policies in the
end play into the strategy that we suspect formula/baby food companies have
used for years. "Breastfeeding is best, but if your baby is doubles his
weight... is 4 months... nurses often... your milk may not be enough and he
may need a supplement.........."

When the latest edition of Babywise came out a couple of years ago, I read
it from cover to cover and I especially checked out every citation in the
"Facts on Feeding" chapter, since in a later chapter he tells his moms that
if their LC challenges what they are doing, just refer the LC back to the
references in the "Facts" chapter, realizing that LCs are behind the times
and not up on the PDF feeding paradigm! The implication, of course, is that
Ezzo is more up on feeding interval issues than we are, and that our
textbooks support him.

NOT. He selectively quotes our revered authors in a way that *they* do not
support, citing the "letter of the law" but not "the spirit of the law," the
latter of which contextually supports cue-feeding. The lack of integrity and
dishonesty in scholarship is deceitful and sets vulnerable parents up to
believe Babywise over the multitude of lactation experts.

The hard part in all of this is that in the case of multiples, we do often
make concessions in feeding routines that we don't normally recommend with
singletons. What Ezzo recommends is not new and life-saving; many
breastfeeding counselors might make similar recommendations to those (though
our philosophical underpinnings are very different). I know that Babywise is
touted by many Multiples groups __no doubt that is how you ended up reading
it__ and it is a shame that parents of multiples should be led to believe
that sanity can only be found in Ezzo's plan, which tends to slip the rest
of their philosophy in with what may otherwise be reasonable ideas.

The issue is not that he doesn't say anything right, because he does--- and
may I add that many of his good changes occurred because of his critic's
public comments, not because of his openness, on-going research efforts, or
great intelligence. The issue is that an amateur has placed himself in the
role of infant feeding expert, and in the process some babies have suffered
real damage because of the mindset created in the parent by the tone of the
book. You can find many statements that sound, as the ones you quoted, very
up-to-date and on top of things. However, I'm sure you also noted that there
are strong undercurrents and underlying messages that subtly color and
change the surface black-and-white statements. This is the real issue-- not
what appears in ink, but what parents walk away believing.

Having said all of this, I would be very interested in what multiples
literature and resources you have found helpful in your own experience.

Lisa Marasco, BA, IBCLC

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