The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding: Completely Revised and Updated 8th Edition

I LOVE this book! Really. The info within is great. Another reviewer or two complained about the fact that the book frequently tells you to call your local LLL chapter- but personally I think they missed a major message. The point of reminding the reader, frequently, to go to LLL is to offer community- a live person to help you when you're worrying. All parents fret, and if it's a first time experience then you're twice as likely to fret. Calling someone and having a local support network will make all the difference when you're experiencing uncertainty. The advice is excellent, and the book is well organized. It's written in a way that's engaging, and includes excerpts from other mothers. I think the book is nearly five star- here's my only hesitation... I think the book, the No Cry Sleep Solution is also excellent, and when it comes to getting your baby to sleep better this book is frequently a bit at odds with that one. This book recommends not giving sleep patterns a thought, allowing the baby to fall asleep at the breast, and/or fall asleep in arms all the time. I agree that these things are wonderful for bonding, but... you need to mix it up, so to speak. Once in a while (as explained in No Cry Sleep Solution) you need to take the baby away from your breast and put them down before they fall completely asleep or your baby will think the only way they Can sleep is at your breast or in your arms. Lets be realistic, as much as we love our children (and I agree wholeheartedly with attachment parenting) we cannot Always sleep with our babies. I believe in co-bedding, and I believe that a baby under 4mo should be going no more than 4hrs without nursing... but as they get comfortable and start to nod off, gently remove the nipple - lay them down near you... or you'll be 18mo down the road still waking every two hours. I recommend the two books together, so that you don't accidentally 'overdo' the nurture thing. No, you canNot spoil a baby at this age- I agree! and you should respond to All of their needs quickly and lovingly- but you can teach them good sleep habits without relying on clocks, crying it out, or other things that are harsh. You can nurture your baby and still teach them gently. This book doesn't chastise such methods, it just doesn't mention that there are gentle methods to gain more sleep while still seeing your little angel prosper. Anyone can survive the first 4mo of weird sleep- but after a year you'll be near tears, and that won't help your baby. The breast feeding advise and the rest of the book are Top Notch- but do yourself a favor and pick up The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night as its companion.

First off- you might not like everything you read in this book. When I started reading it, I was a formula feeding mother (that should tell you something!), and had not followed any advice or research disclosed in this book. However, reading this was a revelation to me. This book is meticulously cited, and there are no claims made without research to back it up. The authors do not sugar coat this information, so if you are like me when I initially read it, you might be slightly taken aback. But if you are looking for a book on breastfeeding that is chock-full of legitimate research and valuable information, this is the book for you.When my son was born, I was told I shouldn't be nursing if I was planning on consuming any alcohol, or taking any medication, etc, etc. (though there are plenty of medications that you definitely should NOT be taking while nursing, that are plenty that are perfectly safe to take while nursing, and many doctors and nurses take the "safe" route by just telling you to formula feed- rather than look up safety information on drugs while nursing. For those who are interested in this, I would recommend reading Dr. Hale, who has compiled a vast amount of information related to risks of specific drugs while nursing). I was also told that my child "needed" to be supplemented with formula from day one (false). All of this misinformation I received within a few weeks of having my child. Soon after, my son's pediatrician began telling me how my breastmilk (which was already in very low supply, thank you unnecessary supplementation!) lacked vital nutrients that formula (specifically, Similac) provided. I was a young mother, and confused. I had been breastfed myself, and before I had my child I never imagined I would end up bottle-feeding, or get bombarded by so much (mis)information from supposedly credible sources. Taking my ped's advice, I stopped breastfeeding completely, and formula fed instead. A couple months later, I found out that pediatrician had had her med school paid for, in full, by Abbott (makers of Similac). Coincidence? Yeah, right.It did not take long for me to understand what a terrible (personal) mistake this was. My son became sickly. At least once every three to four weeks, he would contract some type of illness. Stomach virus, bad cold, fevers, you name it. This is when I heard about re-lactation, and immediately decided this was what I wanted to do. I had heard good things about this book, so I decided to pick it up as an additional resource. Though I had not re-lactated when I read this book initially, and hated some of what I read (yes, formula is bad for babies), it was a harsh wake-up call. Furthermore, I found the text surprisingly encouraging and motivating, despite some of the harsh truths it seemed to brutally convey at the time. It made me feel empowered with new knowledge, as a mother, and confident in my body. Amazing.My re-lactation attempt was successful, and was for me, possibly the best decision I ever made. As soon as I began producing milk again, my son stopped getting sick. No more colds, no more stomach bugs, no more all-nighters screaming. I would never claim that breastfed babies never get sick, but they DO get sick much less often, and with much less severity, than formula fed infants (babies fed formula are 14x more likely to be hospitalized for illnesses, if that tells you anything). But more than the health benefits that my son gained (he is still nursing almost 18 months after re-lactation, and still hasn't gotten sick), we gained a tremendous bond through our nursing relationship. Nursing is amazing for so many reasons that most books and professionals never discuss (save this book). It comforts, consoles, strengthens and empowers both mother and child. As a feminist, it pains me that so many who claim to represent women and equality (cough, Joan Wolf, cough) treat breastfeeding as a curse, a terrible chain, or enslavement. I feel that my experience, made possible by this book- has left me feeling empowered as a woman and as a mother.Some of the topics discussed or advice given you might not like or wish to pursue, which is understandable. The topic of co-sleeping is controversial, and though some would love the information and advice given on it, others might not be inclined to at all. If you don't have an open mind, this might not be the book for you. But if you value research-based information, detailed accounts of nursing at all ages and situations, you would love it. Certainly this might be too much information for some. For me, it was just right. If all this sounds good to you, get this book. If you are like me, it might just change your life.