Here is a copy of a message I sent as a result of reading about Dr.
Brazelton's bad advice on his Livetime TV show "What Every Baby
Knows."  Feel free to add your own messages to Lifetime.

Rachael Hamlet

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
To:            [log in to unmask]
Subject:       Dr. Brazelton's advice to breastfeeding mothers
Date:          Fri, 26 Jul 1996 20:37:44 -0500


I was very disturbed to learn that Dr. Brazelton was advising that all
mothers, whether staying at home or returning to work, should
introduce a bottle before three weeks so that the father can feed the
baby to facilitate bonding.  The possibility of the baby forming a
preference for the bottle nipple, and thereafter rejecting the breast,
is reason enough to reject this advice.  There are other reasons to
reject the advice as well: a father can bond with his baby in other
ways, such as changing, bathing, holding, singing, playing, etc.  And,
once the six months of exclusive breastfeeding is over, the father can
feed the baby solids.

Furthermore, if circumstances make it necessary that the baby be fed
by someone other than the mother, there are other devices (which do
not present the danger of nipple preference) for getting human or
formula milk into a baby, including syringe, cup, dropper, spoon and
Haberman feeder (a specially-designed bottle with a sort of spout at
the end).

Dr. Brazelton should be aware that there are knowledgeable experts on
breastfeeding (the La Leche League Center for Breastfeeding
Information and Dr. Miriam Labbok of Georgetown University Medical
School, for example) with whom he should consult before giving out any
more erroneous advice to the public.