The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning [Paperback]

Kathleen Huggins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 1994

By the author of bestselling Nursing Mother's Companion, this is the first book on weaning your baby.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What is the best way to gently wean a baby? Should you be weaning your baby now? The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning, by Kathleen Huggins and Linda Ziedrich, is at times less a how-to and more a "why-not-to" book about nursing your infant, baby, and toddler. As such, it provides strong, supportive arguments for not weaning babies too early. Each of the possible impediments to nursing--physical reasons, logistical problems such as working, and emotional considerations such as critical family members--are discussed and dealt with sympathetically, reasonably, and with useful tips.

For those who have decided to wean their babies, Huggins and Ziedrich give clear hints on how to use shortened nursing, postponement, substitution, and distraction to make weaning a positive experience for both mother and child. The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning is a useful accompaniment to Huggin's terrific, bestselling guide The Nursing Mother's Companion.

From Booklist

According to Huggins and Ziedrich, weaning babies very early has been a practice in patriarchal cultures throughout history. In this follow-up to Huggins' popular, recently revised Nursing Mother's Companion, the authors take a pro nursing stance, attacking problems that often prevent babies from nursing as long as they could. The book goes beyond the usual how-to approach, beginning with a fascinating (and telling) history of weaning in Western societies. The main text is a year-by-year discussion on making breast-feeding successful, despite the roadblocks that appear as babies grow. Weaning in positive ways, no matter what the baby's age, is encouraged; and there is even a daring presentation of the downside of formula feeding. Aimed especially at mothers tempted to wean before their children are really ready, the advice given is wise, practical, and baby-friendly--a nice touch. Because all nursing mothers reach the point where they need information on stopping, and support for breast-feeding is so lacking, The Nursing Mother's Guide would be an important addition to parenting titles. Jo Peer-Haas --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press; 1 edition (November 11, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558320652
• ISBN-13: 978-1558320659
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mistitled, but some good information, August 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning (Paperback)

This book is less about weaning than it is about justifying the decision to nurse a child for as long as he/she wants, even 4, 5 or 6 years! Much of the book is discussion about how extended nursing is the norm most everywhere but here--we (Americans) are the ones who have tried to put limits on it. Unfortunately, not every mother is willing/able to nurse for that long and there is not a lot of practical weaning information for her. I was having a specific problem nursing my 15 mo. old and this book did not even address it. I really expected more from this book, since Kathleen Huggins' other book, The Nursing Mothers Companion, was so practical and helpful. The bottom line is, if you really want to wean your baby, don't bother with this book. If you want encouragement for extended breastfeeding, you'll find it here.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Source of Info on Weaning and Weaning Techniques, September 24, 2000

By 

Kelly "kelly" (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning (Paperback)

This book begins with a fascinating chapter on the history and sociology of Breastfeeding and Weaning [and the politics as well!]. I found that very interesting. More than 90 pages of the book are devoted to how to wean a baby who is less than 12 months old - which might be helpful to many moms, but is useless to anyone who is nursing a baby older than that. I found the book to be VERY honest and direct on both the pros and cons of weaning in each age category [0-4 mos, 5-12 mos, 1-2 yrs, 3 and older]. The author was very supportive of a mother's wish to wean [or not], regardless of her reasons and gave the facts about the benefits and costs of the decision in a very forthright and non-judgemental fashion. She included a huge number of practical tips on weaning in different situations and for different reasons. She offered information on every choice available without judgement - including some methods condemned by most Breastfeeding Advocates - such as weaning by "abandonment", applying disgusting or pain-inducing substances to the breast to traumatize the baby out of wanting to nurse, and weaning by frightening the baby. I didn't care for those methods, but she was certainly honest and thorough on ALL the options available. She gave many, many tips on methods that might be more healthy for the baby as well, and I felt the book was very complete.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I felt more anxious about weaning after reading it, July 12, 2000

By 

Rosemary Amey (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning (Paperback)

Although The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning provides good information about the normalcy of extended breastfeeding, I felt there was too much emphasis on mother-led weaning, even including some rather harsh methods such as applying a foul-tasting substance to the breasts.

My two year old is a heavy nurser, and this book actually fueled my anxiety by suggesting that he should be breastfed after eating solids. The book does not give guidance for what (if anything) I should do when my son refuses solids and escalates his requests to nurse.

I would recommend Diane Bengson's How Weaning Happens for a more reassuring approach.