I have often wished there were another "diagnosis" for the well-loved and
cared-for breastfed baby who isn't gaining weight.   "Failure to thrive" is
just the most incredibly negative term.  It has to be devastating to a new
mother to have her child labeled FTT--and herself labeled, by implication, as
incompetent, un-nurturing, ignorant, abusive, etc.  I  saw a mom this summer
whose baby was an ounce or two below birth weight at his two weeks peds
exam---and the pediatrician marked FTT as the diagnosis for billing
purposes--at two weeks!!!  Good grief!!!    I saw them at three weeks, by
which time the baby had more than made up for his slow start, and was
obviously thriving..  The mom was more than a little distressed, but she was
an intelligent, mature woman who knew the term had been misapplied in her
case, so she didn't panic and run for the formula, which I figure is the more
common reaction. (She also didn't confront the pediatrician or ask him to
explain, I think because she was so overwhelmed at the time.)  It seems to me
to be an act of cruelty to use such a pejorative term casually.

Judy D in WV