Comments on: Ezzo’s Dangerous Breastfeeding Schedules

By: Victoria

Victoria — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:33:51 +0000

Wow. I completely agree with the last couple of comments. What I find completely insane is that you recommend feeding a baby every half hour during growth spurts and 1-2 hours the rest of the time. so if your baby takes 25-45 minutes to complete a feed you go again five minutes later? That’s really not listening to your baby’s signals. If that was me I’d feel like a force fed foiegras goose.

Yes babies give signals that they want to feed or are thirsty. They also give similar signals because they have gas and confuse the feeling with hunger, they want to suck because they like the feeling, that they want to suck because it helps them sleep or they just don’t know what they want. Thankfully my midwife explained that to me after about a week, I’d been offering the breast every time m baby whimpered or fussed or tried cried and half the time she sucked then spat the whole lot back out.

Books like this and the contented baby are schedule based and can seem over prescribed but they can also be interpreted many ways. For someone looking for guidance on rough times for feeding they are great. That doesn’t mean you won’t feed your baby at 6.45 because your schedule says seven. no one expects that. It does help to see how a rough three hour feeding routine (which is how often my baby wants to feed at the moment) might pan out if her first feed is at 6, 7 or 8 in the morning.

Sorry but this really ticked me off, all I was looking for was information on feeding frequency. Grr!

By: KAren

KAren — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:30:28 +0000

wow, i this article is so disappointing. I am a first time Mum and was recommended to Babywise by many friends. It is a great book, with great solid advice.

Make sure you read the Babywise, before you decide and judge. Don’t let an article that does not give the correct information influence your decision and ability to give your babe what they need.

And Ezzo says very clearly that his books are a guide. If your instinct says something is not right go and get it checked out.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:03:38 +0000

I am also a mom that read Babywise before viewing this website, and can see that most of the moms who have commented have NOT read the book. I am also a mom with a brain and some common sense inside of it. The idea of the book is that by providing FULL feedings at each feeding, that the baby will not need to nurse every hour of 1/2 hour (nowhere in the book does he say 4 hours.) If I think my baby is crying out of need, I will attend to him. If my doctor believes he is not gaining adequate weight, I will change my routine. Not only do these things make sense, but Ezzo advises them! The Babywise book strives for a sane, rested, emotionally healthy family, as well as a happy, healthy baby. Ezzo’s guidance is just that- a guide. Not a bible. The instructions from the pediatrician and your own instinct should always trump.

By: TessaJ22

TessaJ22 — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:42:40 +0000

First of all, the Babywise book states that you should feed your baby every 2-1/2 to 3 hours between weeks 1-4 and every 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours in weeks 5-8. It does not state that you should be going 4 hours unless it is during the night and even then it states that you should not let a newborn baby sleep longer than 5 hours at night so the above information is inaccurate. It also states that if your baby wakes before this 2-1/2 hour time period and acts hungry to FEED YOUR BABY. Unfortunately, I belive the Ezzo’s intent has been taken out of context.

By: Connie

Connie — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:44:26 +0000

Reading the comments above makes me realise how ignorant many people can be. Obviously, none of you have read the Babywise book. One of the golden rules that Garry Ezzo writes is that “if baby is hungry then feed baby”. Sure, he advises people to stick to a 2.5 to 3 hour feeding schedule but he keeps pushing the fact that if your baby shows signs of hunger then feed baby no matter what part of the schedule you are in. What his scheduled feeds are trying to do is get parents to use their common sense and understand why their baby is crying. Babies can only communicate by crying so crying to them may mean a soiled nappy, they are too hot or cold, they are tired as well as they may be hungry. So feeding baby every time they cry is not going to solve all these problems. Babywise just advises parents to assess the situation and think about the different reasons why baby is upset. If baby has just had a feed then most likely the cry is not a hunger cry. It is not a practice that deprives a baby of food. Before people comment they should know the full story to avoid looking ignorant and foolish.

By: Liz

Liz — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:31:28 +0000

The cultural residue Ezzo an the like leave long after their direct influence fades is palpable and terrible. We are now at a point in our culture when breastfeeding is becoming the norm. And at this point it is essential to get both correct information and accomodation. Ezzo’s information is easy to dispell, but their lack of accomodation. Breastfeeding is commonly discourged when percieved to be a source of stress, even if the perception is questionable. There is no winding back the clock once breastfeeding is abandoned. And this, to Ezzo standards, is no real loss. This is antiquaited thinking with no basis in modern research or regard for mother and child.

I speak as a mother who breastfed all three of her children. Breastfeeding is probably one of the
most powerful acts, after pregnancy, the female body performs. Schedules, rules and outdated science have no place and serve no purpose here.

By: Midou

Midou — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:35:48 +0000

First I want to thank you Jessica for sending me this email.I’m totaly disagree with Ezzo’s breastfeeding because it is something unnatural.And I think we mustn’t schedul breastfeed’but let it as it is…

By: Multi-Tasking Mommy

Multi-Tasking Mommy — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:58:31 +0000

All so true!
And yes, I’m sure babies do get thirsty, especially after crying so much. Makes a lot of sense.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 04:09:39 +0000

And Karen, I agree that babies do get thirsty, especially when it’s summer or the house is hot. They can’t just go get a drink of water after all. And giving them a bottle of water just because you think they are thirsty could lead to supressing their hunger and failure to thrive. What is really neat, is that when a mother sweats from the heat, it stimulates her milk supply and allows for more watery foremilk to quench the baby’s thirst.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 04:05:03 +0000

Thank you ladies for your thoughtful posts. A thought just ocurred to me now:

In those early days, I would wake up to nurse a hungry baby and find a full diaper that needed changing. Letting the baby sleep all night without a nursing break could lead to baby sleeping in a dirty diaper, and that could lead to diaper rash. So there’s yet another reason take care of the baby during the night when they want you.