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On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep, widely known as Babywise, was authored by Gary Ezzo and Dr. Robert Bucknam and self-published through Ezzo's own publishing company, Parentwise Solutions. Babywise presents an infant care program which the authors say will cause babies to sleep through the night between seven and nine weeks.^[1]

[edit] Summary

Babywise originally appeared in 1993 as the secular counterpart to Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo's Growing Families International church-marketed infant care curriculum, Preparation for Parenting. Babywise closely mirrors the content of Preparation for Parenting, which Dr. Bucknam did not co-author. Revisions of Babywise have appeared in 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2006.

Babywise describes an infant management plan built around feed/wake/sleep cycles. The authors term their approach to feeding "Parent-Directed Feeding." The book includes instructions for the care of babies from birth through 6 months.

[edit] Reception

Some health care professionals support Babywise,^[2] and the book itself lists endorsements from several GFI-employed physicians (Babywise, 2006).

Babywise has, however, been criticized by health care professionals in infant growth, feeding, sleep and development. Critics include, for example, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, MD, FAAP, Professor Emeritas, Harvard Medical School, developer of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale^[3]; Richard Ferber, MD, Director, Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital in Boston ^[4]; and Arnold Tanis, MD, FAAP, Past President, Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.^[5]

In 1997, after a number of press reports about Babywise, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a Media Alert stating that feeding schedules designed by parents, rather than as demanded by infants, may put infants at risk for poor weight gain and dehydration.^[6]

[edit] References

1. ^ Gary Ezzo,Robert Bucknam (September 25, 2006). On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep (4th ed.). Parent-Wise Solutions, Inc.. pp. 252. ISBN 978-1932740080. 
2. ^ "Pay-to-view-PDF "On Parenting Styles"". AAP News. http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/14/7/30-b. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 
3. ^ Kranz, Cindy, "Brazelton Answers: Our Parents' Panel of Questions for Child Development Expert" Cincinnati Enquirer, Nov. 5, 1999
4. ^ Granju, Katie Allison, "Getting Wise to Babywise," SALON, August 6, 1998
5. ^ La Mendola, Bob, "Feeding schedule for babies causes debate," ORLANDO SENTINAL, June 28, 1997
6. ^ Joe M. Sanders, Jr., M.D.. "abstract:AAP News Vol. 14 No. 7 July 1998:On Parenting Styles". American Academy of Pediatrics. p. 30. http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/14/7/30. Retrieved March 2009. "Newborns should be nursed whenever they show signs of hunger, such as increased alertness or activity, mouthing, or rooting. Crying is a late indicator of hunger. Newborns should be nursed approximately eight to 12 times every 24 hours until satiety ... In the early weeks after birth, nondemanding babies should be aroused to feed if 4 hours have elapsed since the last nursing." 

[edit] External links

• Growing Families International web site (Ezzo organization)
• A collection of press reports, opinions, information, critiques
• AAP POLICY STATEMENT: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk: Section on Breastfeeding