Nursing Mother, Working Mother, Revised Edition [Paperback]

Gale Pryor (Author), Kathleen Huggins (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 15, 2007

The World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other authorities on maternal-infant health all recommend breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of a baby s life and continued breastfeeding through one to two years of age (or for as long as mother and baby desire). For working mothers of infants (more than half of all new mothers) meeting this goal can be challenging. The newly updated Nursing Mother, Working Mother offers you practical and reassuring advice on everything from choosing the right pump in every situation, to securing lactation space and respect at the workplace, to instructing childcare providers on feeding pumped breast milk, to continuing breastfeeding even when your job requires business travel. It also includes information on changes in workplace laws. As a breastfeeding mother, you need guidance and support to combine breastfeeding with your working life, and the reassuring and informative revised edition of Nursing Mother, Working Mother assists you at every step.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the first edition: A highly practical yet philosophical book that will empower mothers. --Library Journal

Praise for the first edition: Full of practical hints on overcoming social and workplace obstacles to breastfeeding. --Fit Pregnancy

Praise for the first edition: A book that will prove extremely useful to women experiencing frequent separations from their breastfed babies...provides a wealth of knowledge on the practical aspects of breastfeeding. --New Beginnings

About the Author

Gale Pryor is a science writer and editor specializing in health and development. Her work has appeared in numerous parenting magazines and corporate and healthcare communications. She is the co-author, with her mother, Karen Pryor, of the best-selling Nursing Your Baby, now in its fourth edition. Kathleen Huggins, R.N., M.S., is the best-selling author of The Nursing Mother s Companion and The Expectant Parents Companion, and co-author of The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning. She is a registered nurse, a board-certified lactation consultant, and owner of the maternity shop Simply Mama.

Product Details

• Paperback: 237 pages
• Publisher: The Harvard Common Press; Revised edition (April 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558323317
• ISBN-13: 978-1558323315
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

146 of 156 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good info and some inappropriate value judgments June 6, 2007

By GadgetChick

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book hoping to put it in my company's pumping room as a resource for pumping moms at my company. After I read it, I decided not to put it in the pumping room. Although there is some good information in this book, unfortunately the tone of most of it made me uncomfortable, and in some places offended me. I didn't want other working and nursing moms at my company to feel judged by the information in this book. Being a working and nursing mom is hard enough without the kinds of value judgments the authors make.

The main problem with this book is that like many breastfeeding manuals, it basically contends that good mothering begins and ends with breastfeeding on demand for as long as possible. Other components of mothering - having the energy to engage in constructive play with your child, having the emotional resources to provide nurturing, etc. get short shrift. If you don't continue to nurse, you are not giving your baby the best, and it's better to sacrifice your own mental well-being than to give up nursing. The previous reviewer mentioned the suggestion to encourage your child to nurse more at night if they drop nursing sessions during the day - in this, as in pretty much every other manual currently recommended, the mom's need for sleep is trumped absolutely by the need to continue breastfeeding. It doesn't seem to matter that lack of sleep can contribute to depression, impaired cognition and decision-making, and result in problems at work, with a marriage, etc. The authors' message is, basically, get used to not sleeping; breastfeeding is more important. I don't think that message serves any mom, not just working moms, well. I have a friend who nearly drove off the road out of sleep deprivation, with her baby in the backseat.... She had been nursing her baby, a chronic reverse-cycler, for 10 months and was impaired in pretty much everything she did. She elected to night-wean her daughter, but kept breast-feeding mornings, evenings, and during the day on weekends. After the night weaning not only did she and her husband feel better, her baby was much less irritable. They continued nursing until her daughter self-weaned just after her second birthday. Night weaning is something people with older babies should consider if their overnight nursing situation is not working, but that idea is dismissed in this book.

There's also a very questionable section where the authors talk about choosing not to go back to work and quote a woman who says that she found a way to make staying home work. That's great, but I would imagine anyone reading this book is way past the point of being able to make a decision to stay home or not. To me this section was completely unnecessary in a book that is, ostensibly, about combining working and nursing.

Overall the book has some valuable info but the hit-you-over-the-head moralizing is too much. I would really love to find a breastfeeding manual that deals with logistics and problem-solving without making it seem like breastfeeding is the end-all-be-all of mothering or guilting women who may not want to nurse until a child is in preschool. I haven't found one yet, - this book definitely isn't it. I was disappointed, and elected to put some neutral information about pumping, milk storage, continuing nursing from a state agency in our pumping room rather than this book. I know first-hand how hard it is to combine working and nursing - I don't want my fellow nursing coworkers to have anything or anyone pile any more guilt on them than they're already piling on themselves. I hope the next edition of the book will focus more on positivity and useful information and focus less on making inappropriate value judgments. Read more ›

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Aimed for the white-collar feminist March 12, 2009

By It's Only Me Really

Format:Paperback

I'm glad I borrowed this book and did not spend money on it. This book is too preachy on feminist issues... it spends too much time talking about requesting employer accommodations. This book aims itself at the white collar feminist. If you are a single mom or a blue collar married mother, then this book skips you. There are women who work out of economic necessity. This book forgets that. It assumes everyone works 9-5 in an office and can take at least a two month maternity leave. For those of us working poor who could not afford a maternity leave and those who work non-traditional hours, this book isn't worth the paper it is written on. Also, the book is printed in blue font, which is hard on the eyes. There is more helpful information in the medalla brochure that comes with the pump than in this book.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I had hoped it would be May 16, 2007

By M. Clarady

Format:Paperback

I had really looked forward to reading this book and was disappointed, especially after reading so many rave reviews. My 6-month old has recently started rejecting his bottles at daycare, and at the same time my supply has dropped dramatically. I understand that he wants to bond with me, but he is not a good co-sleeper (wakes up continually to play) and I don't have a choice about working or flexible hours. I had to wonder what the authors were smoking when they recommeded that I be flattered by this and encourage him to swap his day/night eating habits.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not very useful at all January 16, 2009

By Michelle

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this hoping for specific advice on how to pump when I went back to work. There was just a couple paragraphs on that and it was not helpful at all. The rest of the book is a slanted view on the value of nursing while working. Well, duh, if I wasn't sold on that, I wouldn't have bought the book in the first place. The author also makes it seem so much easier and more enjoyable than it really is. Rather than sugarcoating things, give me specifics on how to manage what is unavoidably a complex task! Don't tell me to just strap my baby to my chest and go deliver that conference presentation. Please. The author must have had a silent baby, because what she suggests is completely infeasible!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars still nursing at 4 months October 9, 2009

By Helen Kral

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I felt this book was extremely informative. I went back and used this book as reference several times. I've been nursing for 4 months and I don't think I would have been able to keep it up if I didn't read this book. There are survival guide sections that are helpful. Four women I know gave up nursin at 1 -2 months and I wish they would have taken the time to get educated. I feel that I'll be able to continue nursing for the recommended 12 months with no problems

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource March 4, 2008

By Jane Doe

Format:Paperback

This book not only tells you about working and nursing, but also about how to create an attachment between the two of you so that when mom goes back to work, there is no loss of connection. It is really helpful in telling you how & when to pump and store your breastmilk, reheat it properly and includes a 'Day in the Life of a nursing, working mother' sample schedule. An invaluable resource!

I am going to type up notes from the book to keep on the fridge for quick reference!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Unhelpful and wrong! January 16, 2012

By Betty White

Format:Paperback

I'm glad I only borrowed this from the library. I have two little ones and tend to start burning out on pumping around the six month mark. I was looking for something to keep me motivated, maybe some tips on dealing with the burnout. This book has none of that. 85% of it is geared towards discussing what to do before you go back to work. The last 15% didn't really help me either. It's cold, clinical but also downright wrong in spots.

Just one example: The book said a baby's milk consumption grows as (s)he does. This is completely false! [...]) Other than during growth spurts, milk consumption stays pretty level between 1-6 months and then begins to *decline* as the baby consumes increasing amounts of solids. If you're going to write a manual for women who are trying to figure out the logistics of nursing/working, you should at least try to get this one little factoid right! I can't think of anything more concerning to a working/nursing mom than that she is providing enough milk to her baby. There were several other things I read in this book that run counter to what I consider generally accepted facts about nursing but this was the most glaring.

It's funny how they do mention that sometime after six months many moms start to feel stretched thin by trying to take care of so many people but they don't really give any good tips on coping with that. Honestly ladies, I think you'd be better off using KellyMom or seeking out a Le Leche League group if you can find a chapter near you. This book pretty much sucks.