If you are planning to breastfeed your new baby, you’ll want to spend some time learning about it during your pregnancy. There are dozens of books in print for breastfeeding mothers. When you browse the bookshelf or search the internet, you may be overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices. In this blog, I will review a few of my favorites.
The Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning By Martha Sears and William Sears, M.D.
This is my personal favorite and I’ve read many breastfeeding books. Bill and Martha Sears are well known experts in the field of parenting and are the parents of eight children. Martha has nursed all eight of their children, including their adopted daughter. She shares her experience and expertise in the pages of this very helpful guide.
I found this book easy to read and very informative. The Breastfeeding Book contains useful information about common difficulties experienced by women in the early days of breastfeeding. There is information included in the book for mothers who will return to work after the baby is born and don’t want to supplement with formula.
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding
by La Leche League International
This is perhaps one of the most well known breastfeeding books on the market. La Leche League was formed in 1955 by seven breastfeeding mothers. The purpose of the organization was, and still is to support breastfeeding women and to advocate for breastfeeding. The book was the first breastfeeding guide written by breastfeeding mothers to help other mothers.
The book is filled with stories from nursing mothers who had difficulty breastfeeding in the beginning and were able to overcome those difficulties. This book includes information on the benefits of human milk for your baby, increasing supply and answers a multitude of questions about breastfeeding.
The Nursing Mother’s Companion
By Kathleen Huggins
The Nursing Mother’s Companion is an informative and practical guide for new mothers. The book is organized in sections by age group. Each section discusses the issues that you may find during that age range. A handy index in the back of the book makes finding the information you need quick and easy. This is an excellent reference book for your library.
Nearly all breastfeeding mothers will eventually have questions about the safety of certain medications. This book has a drug safety index in the back to help answer these questions. There is also a lot of great information about breast pumps. If you will be pumping milk for work or just to get out on your own, you will find this information to be very useful.
Related Articles:
Choosing How to Feed Your Baby
Understanding the Language of Breastfeeding
Finding Support for Breastfeeding