Like someone else who commented earlier, I am starting to get uncomfortable
about all the back and forth about Dr. Karp's book and his theories, which
feels very (unnecessarily) adversarial at times. There is more than one way
to be right.  No trick works on every baby, and it's nice to have a lot of
tricks in the tool box.  If a baby easily shushes on Tues using the 5 Ss,
needs marathon nursing with all sorts of "other mothering" on Fri, fights
off a virus and is unconsolable all day Sat, and goes back to normal on Sun.
then parents will likely use every trick they've ever heard of just to get
through the week.  And all these will be the right thing to do at any given
moment, because THERE ARE NO RULES. All of us parent by the seats of our
pants and the very best one can hope for personally or professionally is to
do the next right thing as best we can understand it. Consequently, it isn't
necessary for life to go on that one viewpoint only is allowed to prevail on
Lactnet.   Our reputation amongst the public at large is that we are so
dogmatic as to be unapproachable, even by people who might become our
allies.  What bothers me about this is that it limits our openness to new
ideas or to looking at old problems in new ways.  This kind of thinking is
the enemy of science.  If we are lactation scientists and systematic
observers of infant and parent behavior, we really do have to be open minded
and sometimes be willing to admit that maybe there are other ways to be
right, and that these other ways don't cancel out our favorite ways to do
things.

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
LactNews Press
www.lactnews.com

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