Reviews of Books About Breastfeeding
Thomas Hale: Medications and Mothers' Milk '96. Pharmasoft Medical
Publishing (phone 1-800-378-1317); $19.95 with shipping.
[amazon says it's OOP, but will try to
get it for you; try the publisher first.]
...the only [book on breastfeeding] I've found w/medication
info under $50! I've already used it 5 times. --Kat Dyer
Gerald Briggs et al. Drugs in Lactation. $15. 1997.
[sources incl. amazon]
(no review)
Huggins: Nursing Mother's Companion 1986, 1995. Harvard Common Press;
0-916782-73-5
[sources incl. amazon]
A terrific book. Full of practical tips for overcoming difficulties.
Much more useful and less guilt-inducing than the Womanly Art.
There is a new edition, but I don't know what's been added to
it. -- Kate Gregory
This was my favorite breastfeeding book. --Paula Burch
The most helpful book on breastfeeding (and its problems),
I read. It is less 'preachy' than LLL's THE WOMANLY
ART OF BREASTFEEDING, and is more upto date than THE
COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING. I found the sections
on pumping and storing milk useful.
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.
[sources incl. amazon]
Terrible book, though much-recommended!
I urge all pregant women to attend LLL meetings. I urge any woman
having problems breastfeeding, coping with biting, getting
presure to wean, and so on to attend LLL meetings. They are a
terrific organization. The book is less terrific. It's a good pep
talk to read while pregnant; why not join your local chapter
and borrow it from their library? When I was having problems nursing
Beth I got no practical help from the Womanly Art, instead I was
guilted by it. I got my help from a doctor, the Huggins book, a
lactation consultant, and my local LLL chapter.
BestFeeding
[sources incl. amazon]
One book that was recommended to me, which I don't recommend for
people who have problems with breast-feeding is a book called
BestFeeding. I don't remember the authors. It was much too adamant
that you shouldn't have problems, all you have to do is position
correctly. I am a personal testament to the fact that this is
not true.
A conflicting view about Bestfeeding:
I just purchased it for my SIL and am generally impressed with it.
It's tone IS a little preachy and condescending, but the photographs
of real breasts are worth it IMO. I wish I'd had this book when I was
breastfeeding; it would have been more helpful that the lactation
consultants I spoke with at the time. I can't compare it to Nursing
Mother's Companion because I haven't read that, but the technical
information is far superior to that in Womanly Art.
- Laura (Wdbedzyk)
Marilyn Grams: Breastfeeding Success for Working Mothers
[sources incl. amazon]
The supply/demand principle works with nursing. It's an amazing
system. Even if it feels like there's no milk there at all, there will
always be something. An excellent book is "Breastfeeding Success for
Working Mothers" by Marilyn Grams, MD. Lots of great information and
encouragement, and equally suitable for moms who are at home.
- LParra [posted]
Huggins, Ziedrich, and Sears: The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning
[sources incl. amazon]
If this is anything like "The Nursing Mother's Companion",
this is the only one to get. -Paula Burch
Norma J. Bumgarner: Mothering Your Nursing Toddler
[sources incl. amazon]
Read this book if everyone around you thinks you ought to wean
your baby now, even though neither you nor your baby is ready. (The
AAP recommends at least a year of breastfeeding, and WHO recommends
two, but loads of people still think that even six months is really way too
long, and they don't hesitate to tell you so!) --Paula Burch
