The Nursing Mother's Companion - 7th Edition: The Breastfeeding Book Mothers Trust, from Pregnancy through Weaning

Before my first child was born, I wanted to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible about breastfeeding. This tome came highly recommended from numerous sources I trust, so I ordered it. How do I feel about it? I have VERY mixed feelings. My advice: skip the foreword/intro and jump to the main content.On one hand, it's a fantastic resource with so much information, and it's laid out really well. BUT I was very turned off by the tone in the foreword and introduction. It was extremely biased towards breastfeeding in a way that fear-mongered and parent shamed about birthing choices. For example, it discussed many things that could happen during the birth experience (like use of pain relief, cesarean births, etc.) and cherry-picked statistics about the negative impact of those choices on a parent's likely success in breastfeeding. I also had some concerns with how she presented certain statistics but wasn't able to verify them because of how the citations were laid out.Becoming a new parent is a wonderful but overwhelming time. The last thing anyone in that situation needs is to be preached at about how their birthing experience (which is sometimes completely out of their control) might make it difficult or impossible to breastfeed. Fed is best, you are doing great, keep going!

I always give this as a gift to an expecting mom. I used to work for a lactation consultant and always promote breastfeeding over formula. Most new moms are a little nervous about breastfeeding for the first time, it isn't easy. This book answers all questions and has solutions to the problems that can arise. Seriously, one of the best gifts a new mom will receive. Give it to her early, she'll have plenty of time to read it before the baby comes and takes over her world! New moms, pour over info, this is the go to book for her to spend some time with.

I bought this book because it was recommended in several articles I’ve read in preparation of becoming a new parent. The main portion of the book has some helpful information however the beginning in the introduction there’s a lot of extremely biased information. Boarder-line fear mongering and shaming those who cannot breast feed and those who choose to have epidurals. I wouldn’t recommend it to any new parent without informing them of this and advising them to skip certain sections.

Bought this book after reading some of the sample pages. I am about to have kid #3 and have never breast fed before. I was very unprepared with my first and due to issues gave up after 2 days. I didn't even try with the second. I decided to try with my third and had no idea where to start. Got this book due to the high ratings and recommendations. I like that it is factual and didn't shame me for having bottle fed my kids. It has lots of information and I feel much better than I did with my first. I would give this to every mom I know who want to beast feed.

This is definitely the best book for nursing moms out there. I had the 6th edition for my own use, and purchased this new 7th edition for my sister-in-law. She says it is helping her. :) I also gave away my old 6th edition copy to another soon-to-be mom for her use. I'd recommend this to any woman who is planning on breastfeeding. The book gives lots of practical tips and troubleshooting, including common issues dealing with pain and latching as well as less-talked about issues like thrush and mastitis. Very useful, very practical. There are also some "survival guides" that break the book up into sections - surviving the first few weeks, surviving the first few months, etc. This is useful because you don't get overwhelmed with everything but just learn what you need to know for the time being.

Everyone has an opinion when it comes to breastfeeding- nurses, pediatricians, lactation consultants, your friends, your mother in law, random people on the internet. You will hear a TON of conflicting information, and wonder who's right and who's wrong. Ultimately it will be up to you to sort out what's right for you and your baby. For me, this book was an indispensable tool to do just that. It wasn't preachy of judgy, and I really trusted the info. Pretty much any issue that came up during my nursing journey was covered. It was nice to have a book I trusted to reference while navigating the early days of nursing, especially having a baby that did not gain well right away.

The title says it all - this is a great book with practical advice on breastfeeding. Offers diagrams, instructions, and support through the trials and tribulations of breastfeeding. Best of all, the advice comes without judgement. I also read LLLI's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which I found to be more judgmental and less helpful with the mechanics of breastfeeding.

This book has been really really helpful for me from my 7th month of pregnancy until the present, with my 7 week old baby. I used this book to prepare breast-feeding, as a first time mother. Although I've been blessed with overflowing breasts (haha!) I still reference it for all sorts of things.I completely trust in it for questions I have about what medications will affect my breast milk, and for pumping, and things of that nature. Recommended as your Go-To for breast feeding mothers, absolutely.

Went into some detail, told the facts behind a few myths but overall some good information

My partner has found this an interesting and informative read.

Great information for a first time mother. I can look back to it for help and a good confidence booster.