Working without Weaning: A working mother's guide to breastfeeding [Paperback]

Kirsten Berggren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0977226867 | ISBN-13: 978-0977226863 | Edition: 1st

Do you want to breastfeed your baby, but don't think you can because you have to go back to work? Are you concerned about the challenges of combining breastfeeding and a fulltime job? Working without Weaning describes in detail how you can work and still breastfeed your baby, with stories and advice from mothers who have been in your shoes. Working without Weaning gives you step by step guidance to help you work and continue to breastfeed, including how to talk to your boss about breastfeeding in a language they'll understand, figuring out the time and place to pump during the day, maintaining your milk supply when you are pumping, choosing the best pump for your needs, storing and feeding breastmilk from a bottle, getting enough rest when you have to work all day and baby all night, keeping balance in your life, supplementing without weaning, and most importantly, preserving your breastfeeding relationship with your baby when you are together.

Product Details

• Paperback: 299 pages
• Publisher: Hale Publishing; 1st edition (June 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977226867
• ISBN-13: 978-0977226863
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Invaluable Resource, August 9, 2006

By 

Liz RB - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working without Weaning: A working mother's guide to breastfeeding (Paperback)

Let me start with a disclaimer: I am a friend of the author. She and I met about five years ago, when we each were working and pumping for our babies. We became part of an online group of working and pumping moms, and have been in touch (along with about 50 other women who were also part of that group) ever since. The group traded advice and support, stories of what worked and what didn't, and online and in-real-life resources. They made it possible for me to work and pump successfully for my daughter's first year, even while working 18-hour days six days a week for weeks on end. Kirsten has, in this book, assembled the collective wisdom of that group and combined it with scientifically supported research to create an invaluable resource for any woman thinking of combining working and nursing/pumping. All the friendly advice, the practical how-to, the list of things "they" say you have to do which you really don't have to do . . . all that stuff is in here, in a very readable, accessible format. Even though I no longer pump for any of my children, I've skimmed most of the book and have marveled at how comprehensive, yet down-to-earth it is. I own the Gail Pryor book as well, and while it is marginally useful, it comes nowhere near to the level of practicality that this one does.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for combining working and breastfeeding, August 10, 2006

By 

EAM (Saint Louis, MO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working without Weaning: A working mother's guide to breastfeeding (Paperback)

Practical, down-to-earth, and written in a conversational style a 'la the "Girlfriend's Guide" books, this book is a must-read if you are even thinking of continuing to breastfeed after returning to part-time or full-time work during your baby's first year. Kirsten combines the science with practical advice, and sprinkles in real-world examples of moms who have made it work for them. Special sections on talking to your boss, traveling for work, how to boost milk supply, and how to balance life as a working, breastfeeding mom are of specific interest. THE guide we wish we all had with our babies!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent content; needed an editor, September 16, 2008

By 

Robyn DiFalco "neginha" (Chico, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Working without Weaning: A working mother's guide to breastfeeding (Paperback)

This is a fabulous book with tons of helpful info and I'm glad I bought it.

Most of these types of books are written by stay-at-home moms (what working mom would have the extra time to write a book?!) so there are very few resources about breastfeeding and pumping once you're back at work. And yet, it's such a challenging thing to do, that I believe every working mama needs this kind of support.

La Leche League wasn't very helpful because all the LLL leaders are stay at home or part-time moms (lucky them) and have no personal experience with working outside the home 40 hours a week. The breastfeeding support group meetings are during working hours so that was no help to me either.

But my opinion is that without some helpful resources (like this book, an online support group, or, if you're lucky, a local support group for working moms with meetings on weekends or evenings), most women who go back to work will give up pumping and ultimately breastfeeding earlier than they otherwise would. It's a really hard thing to do and having support makes all the difference.

This book is packed full of helpful info and I really wish I had it when my first child was born and I had to go back to work. Now that I'm about to have my second child, I just know I'm going to be a lot more successful this time around.

I will be forever grateful to the author for writing this book and creating the online support group for working moms!

My only (teensy weensy) complaint is that the author clearly didn't have an editor and the finished product would have been better with a professional editor. The writing style is very casual and that gives it kind of a personal feel. But it's kind of annoying to have typos here and there, and also to wade through some sentences that just aren't well written and thus cause confusion for the reader until you go back and read it a second time. Hopefully there will be a 2nd edition that will have an editor. But let this not deter you from buying this book.

If you're working and pumping, please do yourself a favor and get at least one book that can provide you with the support you're going to need.