Susan said and others agreed with....  "It doesn't help the mother understand the difference between rhythmic swallowing, sucking from lethargy arising from inadequate caloric intake, and sucking for comfort when full.  It doesn't help the mother understand that by interacting with her baby, trying different things and observing how her baby responds, that she will LEARN what works for HER baby.  I doesn't help the mother understand that there are three different things going on:  a) what her baby brings to the situation, b) what she brings to the situation, and c) the interaction between the two of them.  When we say "baby-led"  or others say "mother-led" --- neither of these sayings really takes into account the fact that those terms are woefully incomplete.  It is the INTERACTION between the mother and baby that we should be fostering so that they learn to understand each other and develop communication in ways that work for them."

*****(whew!  Feeling a bit pounded down right now...)

I actually agree with everything Susan and others said.  I use the 2nd breast as dessert model as a starting point, to move moms out of the I-have-to-clockwatch mentality that so many seem to come to class with.  The culture in my area presses mothers to ignore their intuition and instincts, so re-establishing the value and importance of mother baby interaction and communication development is challenging unless I have the time and space to develop my relationship with the mother.  A 1.5 hour breastfeeding class (this is all the time I'm allotted) with a group of 12 first time parents only allows minimal opportunity.  (I actually stopped teaching there because that is simply not enough time).  I like to think that when I am consulting one on one, that I do a decent job of guiding families toward the kind of interaction Susan described.  I guess that's one of the woes of this digital medium -- in the interest of trying to be succinct enough that someone will actually read what you have written, the lack of context helps the message get distorted into something other than what the poster intended.

I hadn't thought about how it might influence a mother with a hx of eating disorders.  I'm still new in the field (6 years as an LLLL and 2 years as an IBCLC) but I've actually never had a mom who was restricting baby's intake out of fear of obesity (that I was aware of).  I will be re-thinking the model in light of the things you've pointed out (but I do still think it is better than clock timed feeding).

Brenda Carroll, MA, IBCLC, LLLL
(who is planning to go back to lurking)

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