Customer Reviews

The Womanly art of Breastfeeding (Plume)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is an indispensable guide to any mother who chooses to breastfeed her baby. It covers all of the common concerns a new mother might have as well as discussing the value of "mothering through breastfeeding." This book has stood the test of time and continues to offer the wisdom of La Leche League as well as all the most up-to-date research available

This book is an essential tool for the breastfeeding mother. I bought this book because my aunt bought it a long time ago (in Spanish) and recommended it to me. I read all of the reviews and am surprised to read that some women were not satisfied with this book. If you are looking for a book about the most modern way to breastfeed, go buy yourself a breast pump. If you are interested in a book that touches your heart and lets you view the world of breastfeeding from the actual breast (for a first time mother), than this is the book for you. I've had many books and am a first time mother of a healthy, breastfed 5 month old. I bought this book 2 weeks ago and read it while I feed my son. It has taught me some vital facts about breastfeeding that I had not seen anywhere else.
As for the fact that they use the term "he" to describe the child figure, it is clearly stated on the back of the contents page that it was for clarity purposes. They write "she" for the mother figure, and "he" for the child figure.

When I was expecting with my first child, I made the decision to feed the baby naturally. I had no idea and, of course, scared
about the whole situation. I read the book from front to back,
and really found some interesting facts,hints, better "how to's and what to do when you are not with your child. Reading this book put me at ease. When I had my second child, 18 months later, it was like riding a bike.

I used this book when I had babies - and now bought it for my daughter who is having a baby. Very informative helpful book.

As a former OB nurse who has assisted hundreds of women learn to breast feed their newborns, my job would have been far easier if more women had read "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" during their pregnancies. Be warned, however, sometimes Le Leche League can get a tad bit over the top. However, that isn't so much the case in the book as with certain LLL groups. Either way, I highly recommend the book and the Le Leche League! The woman who plans to breast feed her infant will find more correct information in here than she will from publications which are available for free in her physician's office. Those "free" publications are generally printed and distributed by the companies that sell formula.Just enough slightly erroneous information is given that can help a woman "fail" at breastfeeding,hence,they sell formula!

Best breastfeeding book I've found. A must have for breastfeeding moms. I've used this book for helpful information with all 3 of my children.

I gave it 4 stars because it is very informative and got me excited about breastfeeding. However, this book is pretty insulting to those of us who have formula fed a baby. My first child was formula-fed, and parts of this book made me pretty angry because there are some very condescending statements. Basically, La Leche League equate mothering with breastfeeding. This book makes it sound like those of us who did not breastfeed are less of a mother somehow. It really doesn't get more insulting than that.

Here is a direct quote from the book: "The sensitivity that helps you do the right thing at the right time comes from knowing your baby. It develops as you spend time with him, but it develops more quickly, and to a greater degree, if you are nursing your baby."

I know there are many benefits of breastfeeding, but this whole "you will have a better bond with your baby if you breastfeed" thing seems to be just a scare tactic. Don't buy into it.

Other than the fact that this book may make you feel like the scum of the earth if you have ever given your baby formula, it's a helpful and informative book.

The Womanly Art has been considered the ultimate guide for the breastfeeding mother since the 1950s. In those days there was little medical research, most data was anecdotal and only a few mothers were really the only ones who knew what breastfeeding was really like. The breastfeeding rates in the USA at that point were abysmal (As was infant health,) and LLL and this book changed all that. Breastfeeding rates rose and continue to rise in the USA and Europe, babies became healthier and breastfeeding became the norm, as it should be, this book and LLL are responsible. If the information in this book wasn't working, breastfeeding wouldn't be as workable as it is for so many women for more than a generation, and have the record numbers of women now doing what is BEST for themselves and their babies. This book WORKS!

This book is comprehensive. It covers most aspects of breastfeeding, BUT it pulls NO punches. Having a baby is in no way a convenience, and caring for that baby properly is not convenient either. Breastfeeding is not always simple, but this book makes it direct, and gives you the power and knowlege on how to be successful. Some may be offended by this book's frankness, it's dedication to the fact that BABIES are what this is all about (not convenience) and some are threatened by the facts which prove the absoluteness that breastfeeding has no peer in infant feeding. But this book is honest, it gives the needed answers and it has thousands of women and babies to vouch for it.

Parenting is not for the weak, the complaining, or the excuse makers. That goes double for breastfeeding parents. Breastfeeding CAN be done, and this book ELIMINATES the excuses and leaves the reader with ONE choice, that breastfeeding can be done and should be done. Through it's gentle manner, interesting case studies and medical fact, excuses why "I couldn't breastfeed...." are explained, dealt with and then eliminated by this book. That might makes it *difficult* for some to read. But that is the reason why it is the BEST book on the market for parents. You can do this, and the Womanly Art will give you the ability to do so, if you are willing.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." The same can be said for making one feel "Guilty." No one can make an other feel guilty, one can only tell the truth, which is what this book does.

Read this book, and perhaps speak with a local La Leche League leader, and you WILL be able to breastfeed. It may take some courage, but that is what parenting is all about.

This book does contain alot of information for the woman who wants to breastfeed such as I do. However, the thing that bothered me is that it is very one sided. La Leche League seems to push their views as the ONLY way to do things and the ONLY way to be. There is definitely helpful info here if you can weed out their opinions and use your own good judgement. I stopped reading this halfway when a friend recommended The Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins. That one is a must have.

This is quite possibly the most frustrating, UNHELPFUL book I have read during my pregnancy and since my baby was born. I am a first-time mother and am committed to breastfeeding, but I want to do so in addition to being myself, so I need practical advice about clothing for nursing, tips for breastfeeding outside of the confines of my home, returing to the workforce, etc. Even the general guidelines that are offered by LLL about these things are overshadowed by qualifiers like "if you must leave your tiny baby for a short time -- and the shorter the time the better..." Obviously, anyone reading this book has already made a committment to breastfeeding, so that LLL only succeeds in CREATING GUILT AND ANXIETY about any minute a woman spends away from her child. Perhaps the most offensive part of this book is its treatment of the father's role in breastfeeding which is summed up by the index entries that refer to the husband's role. One of only two entries listed under "husband" is "uncooperative." The entry for "father" is a little more inclusive of his role, but not nearly enough. I find this book entirely COUNTERPRODUCTIVE and will not give it or recommend it to anyone, particularly a new mother who needs a book that offers both practical, modern advice and encouragement.