I think it depends on the mother's goals with regard to nursing. If
her goal is to nurse for the first year in order to avoid formula,
then, no, I don't think AP necessarily goes hand-in-hand with
breastfeeding. If, however, a mother's goal is to nurse into/through
toddlerhood or let the child self-wean, then I do think at least some
degree of AP is almost necessary.

For example, in order to nurse through certain nursing strike windows,
co-sleeping and babywearing are extremely helpful. I have observed
that babies who sleep through the night rarely make it through a
nursing strike--partly because the milk supply quickly becomes
compromised (since night nursing often continues uninterrupted during
a nursing strike and thus protects the supply) and when a baby hasn't
been encouraged to nurse for comfort there is then no incentive to
continue nursing for that baby.

I do think that while perhaps not AP some degree of sleep sharing is
pretty important (but maybe not strictly necessary in all cases) to
get breastfeeding established, as is a willingness to nurse at night
in at least the first few months. That being said, many families who
do not AP are still open to that.

I think that mothers who try to schedule feedings and sleeping from
early on can only be successful when the mother has a large storage
capacity. I think that the cases of FTT that have been found by Ezzo
followers are likely women whose babies need more frequent feeds than
their schedule allows for. So, for those mothers who are lucky enough
to have storage capacities that allow for 3-4 hours between a feed,
then, no, they can manage to establish breastfeeding in spite of their
schedules. But they are few and far between in my observations.

Gina Gerboth
www.safepassagebirth.com


> One of the things I've heard over and over again from mothers who do not practice any form of attachment parenting is:  "He/She just doesn't want to nurse any more."  That leads me to wonder WHY.  Is it because the mother and baby's trust relationship has been damaged by cry-it-out sleep training?  Is it because the house is adult-centered and scheduled rather than child-centered and cue-based?
>

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