Customer Reviews

Nursing Mother, Working Mother, Revised Edition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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!

I am a working mom who support many of the ideals LLL and this book promote- attached parenting, breastfeeding only, ect ect- however I have to work, its not an option.
This gave some good hints about a pump schedule... I am glad I read it- but also glad I borrowed it from the local library instead of buying it like I had planned on doing.
Hang in there- BF is tough but it is the best you can give to your baby.

I've been back at work for just 2 weeks now and my baby is 3.5 months old.

I really love this book - I find it to be well written (well chosen, succinct words and a to to the point style). The author is helping me make sense of my new role as a working mother, and has great words for me think in and use. She captures the conflicts that I face as a woman in the workforce where success is modeled after male choices and aptly says that it would be a bewildering and backward end to feminism if women had to become men in order to be considered equal.

I read the comment regarding her value judgements regarding breastfeeding. This may be a problem only if the reader hasn't yet discarded their own insecurities regarding breast versus bottle. (I pretty much tune out the gung-ho breastfeeders to sound in my own security regarding my choice).

There are many obstacles to breast feeding and a few militant people or books can only help with the commitment to carry on with it. If someone does stop or have to stop for some reason, this book will still probably have lots of useful information for them. However, given that the book uses the word "nursing" right in the title, one would hope that a non-nursing mother choosing to read the book would already have adequate security in their feeding choice.

The book is written by and for a woman who is attached to her role as a professional, and is trying to understand how to think about and balance her new role as a mother. The emphasis is on nursing and how to do so while working. This is exactly what I was looking for and appears to be well written for my generation of employees, employers and workplaces.

Informative without bogging you down; discusses options without condescension or proselytizing; level-headed but considerate of your emotional response to returning to work. An easy, quick read which was most helpful and encouraging. The edition I read also had a pleasing dark blue font.

I bought this book while I was still pregnant, because I was planning on going back to college very soon after my daughter was born. Due to some complications, I didn't get to go back to school, so I've been a SAHM for nearly a year. Even without me working, this book has been by far the best book about breastfeeding that I have read. It has a whole chapter that gives you the knowledge and confidence that your body can nurse your baby. Without reading that chapter before my daughter's birth, I think I would've given up on breastfeeding when it was hard in the beginning. Words cannot even express how valuble this book was to me. Without this book (and a great lactation consultant), I know I wouldn't be nursing my daughter today.
This book also has some other information about breastpumps, etc that is very good, going over the pros and cons of each type.
A previous reviewer talked about the information on sleeping, which is a little extreme. However, those who do not want to follow the advice don't have to. It's not the solution for everyone, but neither is night-weaning a child that isn't emotionally or physically ready.
Bottom line is, I very very very strongly recommend this book, not only for moms that plan on working, but for anyone who is planning to breastfeed their baby.