The Nursing Mother's Companion

Side note: I have not read through this entire book. Will update my review in a few months. So far, here is what I think: I agree with other reviewers who mentioned that this book is a great reference if one does not have access to online BF info or other books. I am expecting our firstborn in a couple weeks and have read through the first few chapters of this. My intent on purchasing this book was to have something to refer to should problems arise during BF. Also to feel encouraged about BF in those moments I may feel like giving up. My issue so far is the advice on several different problems appears to be fairly the same, repetitive. Perhaps a detailed chart with problems and solutions would've been good enough, look more organized, easier to find. Another reason I gave it 3 stars is because, as others have mentioned, I do not find the tone of this book very encouraging, empowering, positive. Nor does it give a balanced perspective. It has a sort of "scare tactic" approach...which some people may appreciate or not...For me that is both good and bad. After just reading the first few chapters and everything that could possibly go wrong in BF the first two months plus the great detail about how practically any kind of medical intervention during labor can potentially ruin those first few moments of BF your newborn and how challenging it can be to make up for it, I began to feel paranoid instead of excited about BF. I thought "Oh wow, next time I ought to hire a doula, go all natural, or deliver at home or a birthing center or else my BF experience will be doomed!"...Sounds dramatic, but that's really what I thought. I do appreciate that it encourages to seek professional help/an LC and talk to others. Being a first time overly confident mom, I needed to hear this and be humbled...perhaps some of you are like me with the "I can do it, I don't really need help" mindset. Well, a lot of my first-time mom friends have that kind of attitude, too, thinking BF would be a breeze, attending classes and talking to an LC or reading a book is a waste of time...It's no surprise a good number of them have given up on BF in 6 months or less. Maybe this book would've been good for them. Initially, I had zero intention to join a breastfeeding support group or talk to a LC unless my doctor says I really needed to, thinking I could wing it on my own. Even after attending a 2 hour BF class, I thought: "Classes and counseling are nice, but I don't think I'll need it". But after reading this book and all the many many problems a nursing mom can face, I feel more inclined to reach out for help and share experiences. Being a very private person, that alone is a big step for me. So I guess in a good way, the scare tactic tone in the beginning was helpful for me. But for some of you, it may be too much. I would recommend this book to other first time moms who like me initially, need a good smack in the head because I didn't have a clue as to how demanding BF can be and thought I could get by just fine on my own. But if you're just looking for general reference or a book with a less biased, more positive tone, there are other resources and reading material out there. The book goes into all kinds of other problems that other women may find insightful...nursing twins, nursing babies with specific medical conditions, nursing mom with medical condition....Those do not apply to me but for those that it does apply to, these parts of the book look like they would be helpful.

I'm only about 100 pages into this book, and I'm already feeling like I got my money's worth. For example, I'm currently pregnant, and every other breastfeeding resource I've consulted said there's nothing I can or should do to my body to prepare for breastfeeding while pregnant. The Nursing Mother's Companion, by contrast, has an entire chapter on that topic--including tips for physically preparing your breasts for breastfeeding, what to discuss ahead of time with your caregivers to facilitate your first breastfeeding experiences in the hospital, how various birth interventions might affect your milk supply or ability to nurse in the 24-28 hours after birth, and so forth. Now that I've read this book, I realize that I was about to make completely avoidable mistakes that would have led to frustration, sore nipples, and a lackluster milk supply. As a simple example, this book explained when applying heat to breasts can productively reduce pain/breastfeeding problems, when heat provides temporary relief but doesn't necessarily help a particular problem, and when applying heat might feel good but ultimately makes the problem much worse. Without this book, I definitely would have applied heat in one of the definitely-don't-do-that situations. Again, it's not like I haven't read other breastfeeding books and web sites. But this book is more matter-of-fact and "how-to" oriented than those other sources.That said, I was pleased to see that this book doesn't treat "formula" as a four-letter, unspeakable word. Without question, this book treats exclusive breastfeeding as the ideal feeding method for babies and talks about all the potential disadvantages of feeding formula. There are loooooooong checklists of interventions you can attempt to overcome obstacles to breastfeeding (like sore nipples, plugged ducts, a baby with poor suction or a tied tongue, etc.) But the book also acknowledges that formula can be useful for breastfeeding mothers--for example, if your milk doesn't come in fully within a few days of birth, you may need to supplement with formula while taking measures to increase milk production. There's also a candid discussion in Chapter 2 of "when treatment fails," meaning situations where conditions make it impossible to continue breastfeeding. But seriously, for any given breastfeeding problem, this book offers 10 or 12 possible solutions. So if you end up going to formula, you can pretty safely say that you left no stone unturned.If you're intimidated by this book's size--almost 300 pages--don't be. Most of it is a reference guide, and it's organized topically, so it's not designed to be read straight through. You go to the sections that are relevant to you (example: "Difficult latch-on--refusal to nurse") and skip the ones that maybe aren't relevant to you (example: Nursing After Gastric Bypass Surgery.)I have the Kindle edition, and while it does have occasional editing problems, I appreciate the internal links to other chapters, sections, etc. It makes it easy to move around the book to sections you need.

A great tool for mothers committed to breastfeeding. Unlike other books on the topic (The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding), this one gives you the information you need and answers common questions you'll have along the way. I found myself googling many questions, only to come across the exact answers to them in this book. Just read this and leave Google alone. My mother gave me the toll free number to La Leche League hotline, swearing that they got her through all the unknowns when she breastfed me. I never needed to contact them, cause this book answered all the questions I had. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is more trying to sell you on the idea of breastfeeding. I don't need a book to convince me of all of the benefits of breastfeeding. I knew I wanted to exclusively breastfeed, and this book was great! I bought it on my Kindle and propped my Kindle on its stand and set it on the small table next to my glider in the nursery and read it while I nursed my baby, swiping to the next page with just a finger. Much better than trying to hold a book and turn pages with a baby and a Boppy! Such a great book, I am buying the Kindle version as a baby shower gift for my sister-in-law, who desperately wants to succeed in breastfeeding her newborn. 3 must have breastfeeding tools: a Boppy pillow, lanolin, and this book! I wouldn't have been so successful so quickly without these three!!

very useful!

Really good!

As a two time mom, I highly recommend this book. With my first child, I was quite clueless about the issues one could face with breastfeeding, I just assumed it would happen naturally. Well, the process is often not that smooth for many mothers/babies. I was fortunate enough that I could go on to nurse my first one for almost 2 years & am hoping to do well with my second one too. This book has all the information in a very systematic and detailed format, from preparing before the birth of a baby to weaning. These include milk requirement for the first few days, dealing w/ jaundiced babies, breast pumps, medication aspects, mastitis, etc. It is often very confusing once the baby arrives as different people around you can give you conflicting advice. I now routinely either recommend or gift this book to my close expecting friends who are interested in BF-ing, and advice them to read it before the arrival of their babies.

I read this during pregnancy and am pleased with the quality and amount of information shared, and the clear writing style and book layout. I believe it will be a helpful reference book once my baby arrives. The slant is obviously toward American mothers, but the information and product reviews within the book are also useful in Germany, where many of the same practices and products (e.g. breast pumps) are available.