Ayelet, there is no way you could feel fine and sleep well after that encounter.  It's scary when you see a baby in danger and it is because the parents for some reason just can't see it.  They will likely need real skilled support to deal with their own feelings of inadequacy once they wake up from the postpartum fog and realize what has been happening, and this won't happen until the baby is admitted to hospital for correction of his starvation.  What luck that you ran into them.  I hope the pediatrician has taken steps to contact them - and if not, you may have an obligation to inform Child Protection if your laws are anything like ours.  I hope the pediatrician's concern is more acute than what the parents related to you, and if not, you should consider reporting that as well.
  
In my experience this is a problem among well-educated families who lack nothing in material wealth.  I have yet to meet a teenaged school dropout who doesn't feed her baby unquestioningly when it acts hungry.  She may not believe she has enough milk in her breasts and supplement needlessly if baby wants to feed often, but at least the baby gets fed.  While I am no fan of breastmilk substitutes, it beats starving.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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