Customer Reviews

The American Academy of Pediatrics New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is THE breastfeeding book to buy. As a NICU nurse, I am familiar with breastfeeding, but as a new mom, I needed some help. This book addresses the real issues that come up with breastfeeding without passing judgement or inducing guilt if your experience isn't "perfect". (Nobody's is) Also, it addresses the issues of storing milk to let you continue breastfeeding when you go back to work better than any other book I've looked at.

Great book. I recieved this book at the breastfeeding class I took before I delivered. I used this book all the time when I was nursing, it helped answer a lot of middle of the night questions. I read it before I had my baby, but then I used the table of contents and index after I had the baby to answer a lot of questions I was having. I highly recommend this book to anyone going to have a baby and plans to nurse.

For new mothers considering breastfeeding, this is a wonderful book for the new moms-to be like myself. Not only does it give the basics of how to breastfeed but why your body does the amazing things it does!! It has made me feel (already) better prepared for September (my due date) and beyond. I definitely suggest this book to everyone considering to breastfeed. It will be a fantastic resource to go back and read though again and again. ALOHA!!

This book should be titled "Rah Rah Breastfeeding!". There was too much effort spent convincing you to breastfeed, rather than presenting useful information for nursing mothers. It's also filled with annoyingly sappy stories about mothers who choose to nurse.

Just in case you think I'm anti-breastfeeding, not so! I'm still nursing my little one at 15 months, but I can't say this book was any help at all. The La Leche League website was far more informative and FREE. Don't waste your money.

I read this book when I was about 7 mos pregnant w/ my son, and then looked it over as my due date approached. Because of this I was very well prepared. You will definitely want to keep it to review as you run into nursing issues though. Aside from a supportive family and patience this is the best resource you can have for successful breast feeding experience.

As a new mom-to-be, I stumbled across this book at a secondhand store and, from briefly flipping through it, thought it might be helpful, so I grabbed it up. Indeed, it features drawings of latch techniques and positions that I found useful, along with summarized descriptions of many basic breastfeeding topics. However, this book falls seriously short in so many ways, and I realize that more than ever now that I'm actually breastfeeding (my baby is now 3 months old).

First of all, this book is absolutely littered with these ridiculous fictional accounts of women with geriatric-sounding names that address this, that, or the other. It's cumbersome and completely unnecessary to have to skim through fictional "conversations between friends" just to try to weed out factual information on breastfeeding. The readers of this book are adults, not grade-schoolers, and it's hard to take this book seriously as a rational resource due to this unfortunate offense.

Second, I agree that this book harps on and on and on a little too hard about the benefits of breastfeeding (and there are many) while totally glossing over the fact that, to some extent or another, problems arise very frequently and are oftentimes perceived as severe or stressful in new mothers. They touch very lightly on the basics like mastitis and engorgement, but for this to be a truly comprehensive resource, there needs to be MUCH more information on breastfeeding roadblocks. If women read this book and go into it thinking it's going to be a piece of cake, most of them will be in for an unexpected surprise, which might put them at risk for early weaning. My daughter is 3 months and I had mastitis four times which led to a very severe abscess that had to be surgically drained. (I still breastfeed on one side only.) My experience, while not overwhelmingly common, is certainly not unheard of in breastfeeding women, yet the word "abscess" is not even mentioned in the entire book. I feel that they are not taking a realistic approach with their readers by the neglectful omission of many painful issues women may experience while breastfeeding.

Overall, unless you're like me and find it for dirt cheap someplace, I cannot recommend this book. I found La Leche League's website, the Kellymom website, and in-person lactation consultations to be more beneficial in getting the hang of it all. I recommend that pregnant women try to get as much information as they possibly can before the birth of their child to be prepared, but perhaps not from this particular resource. But whatever you do, hang in there and seek out help from a pediatrician or lactation consultant if you need it!

Having already decided to breastfeed, I read this book (on loan from a friend) hoping for some practical information to help me feel prepared.
This book has very little useful information, and far too many feel-good, corny stories about imaginary mothers who've decided to breastfeed.
If you've already decided to breastfeed, you won't learn anything from this "guide" beyond what you've already learned in your pregnancy books. I'm now borrowing "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" from another friend in hopes of getting less propaganda and more practical advice!

Written simply, it's easy to get through the book in a day or two. There are little stories here and there that can be skipped over as they do not add any real information or entertainment. The information is good,they do give good resources for where to go or who to contact if you are struggling to feed or just need support, as well as all the specs on how and why to breastfeed. I also like the charts in the back that tell you what to normally expect from growth to bowel movements daily. Be aware that it can get preachy (possibly rightfully so) that breastfeeding is ALWAYS better than formula, the longer you breastfeed the better (has facts to back it up) and pushes feeding on demand (AKA milk factory open 24/7) It scolds society for shunning women who breastfeed into the toddler years or in public, reminding us that the baby's health is more important than public approval.

I got this book free with that bag of formula the hospital gives away (YIKES!), but I found the book's information to be helpful to me. It was easier to read and understand than "The Womanly Art..." and it was far less preachy. BUT, Janet Tamaro's "So That's What They're For!" was even better than this one. Of the three, that is the one I'm recommend most.

I was not impressed at all with this book. It contained all information one can find on the internet. The book kept repeating the same information over and over again.