I wonder if he's changed his position on this:

> Ferber recommends using his method if your baby is 6 months or older. 
> Like most sleep experts, he says that by the time most normal, 
> full-term infants are 3 months old, they no longer need a nighttime 
> feeding. And at 6 months, none do. If you're still nursing or giving a 
> bottle at bedtime at this age, the feedings themselves may be behind 
> your baby's wakings. She has become used to them, and her tummy tells 
> her she needs them. Ferber says no: She wants, but doesn't need, to be 
> fed. He adds that if you find late-night nursing satisfying and it 
> doesn't keep your baby from sleeping through the night, go ahead and 
> do it.


This is from http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babysleep/7755.html. 
Granted, it may be a misinterpretation and I don't have the Ferber book 
handy to supply the accurate quote.

However, it is directly related to breastfeeding, and I think others on 
this list may agree with me that night-feedings are a need, rather than 
a want, for such young infants. If Dr. Ferber starts from this premise, 
I don't think his approach to meeting children's sleeptime needs can be 
considered evidence-based, let alone consistent with many of the 
mothering practices that lead to and from breastfeeding.

I admit that I am often a bit wary of someone who claims that his / her 
words were misinterpreted after such a long period of successful sales. 
I assume that at least some people who have hesitations about the method 
have read the book, and that they can understand it. Perhaps a 
Lactnetter can confirm whether Dr. Ferber presents evidence for his 
belief that breastfeeding at night is not necessary for a 6-month old 
baby's physical and emotional needs. If not, he's the one who has 
misinterpreted (or ignored) the scientific evidence on the potential 
damage to a baby who is not fed at night. For that matter, most of us do 
know how to interpret the evidence on what happens to a baby left to cry 
for 45 minutes (however progressive the waiting period was), even to the 
point of having a temper tantrum and throwing up (he recommends cleaning 
up the vomit matter-of-factly), and to a mother's self-confidence, her 
ability to read and understand cues effectively, and her relationship 
with her family when she is advised to ignore her instincts. His advice? 
Counselling will help a mother cope with her instincts that crying is bad.

Jo-Anne

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