The Better Way to Breastfeed Book Review

Fashionable Media Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to me, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.

About the Book

Breastfeeding is one of the best ways to get your baby off to a healthy start. Certified doula and lactation counselor Robin Elise Weiss provides readers with a step-by-step guide that includes:

* Multiple quick reference sections and handy checklists of what to know and do, and when you might need to seek help;
* In-depth discussions on how to work with your hospital, employer, friends and family to support your breastfeeding goals;
* Confidence Cues that help you read your body and your baby’s subtle signals; and
* Mama Moments that provide reassurance and help to new mothers who need to take care of themselves as well.

The Better Way to Breastfeed gives mothers the practical instruction they need to ensure a healthy, positive experience for themselves and their child. Over 100 original step-by-step photographs set this book apart from the competition as well as concise and the authoritative instruction About.com expert Robin Elise Weiss offers.

About the Author

Robin Elise Weiss, L.C.C.E., C.L.C., is a nationally recognized childbirth and postpartum educator, certified doula, and lactation counselor as well as the pregnancy and childbirth expert for About.com She is the author of nine books on pregnancy and childbirth; she and her work have been featured in Newsweek, Working Mother, and American Baby. She is the mother of eight children.

My Review

I really like the layout of the book. It contains quick tips in the side bars as well as self-care tips that encourage moms to take care of themselves too. After all we won’t do our babies and families any good if we are not well. Then Robin has included little affirmation quotes to encourage moms to keep going despite breastfeeding challenges.

I loved the fact that Robin encourages mothers not to just watch the growth charts for their baby’s well-being, but to watch their babies (Page 112):

What “Thriving” Really Means ~ Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to your baby’s weight. Babies are said to be “thriving” for a number of other reasons as well. Does your baby seem happy and is she responsive? Does she look healthy, and is her body filling out well? As she gets bigger, are you noticing growth in her cognitive development? Your breast milk is helping your baby to grow in all of these ways. As long as your baby is nursing well, wetting enough diapers, and gaining weight, it doesn’t matter where she falls on the growth charts. Healthy babies grow at their own pace!

(Emphasis mine)

Robin deals with other important issues such as, proper fitted nursing bras, baby-friendly hospitals, nutritional needs of mom and infant during breastfeeding, working and pumping breastmilk, preemie and multiples advice and much, much more.

I found the sections on sore nipples, increasing milk supply and nutritional needs particularly helpful to review for my current nursing relationship with our new son.

One subject that is near and dear to me is tandem nursing – nursing an infant and a toddler. I have done this twice and had a very good experience each time. However, there is not a lot of information out there on tandem nursing. By the time I was in my second tandem nursing relationship one book had been written devoted to this topic, but Robin only devotes a couple of pages to this subject. Personally, I would have liked to have seen more info given, but two pages is much better than a couple of paragraphs.

Overall, I think this book is one new and veteran moms can benefit from and use in their breastfeeding experience.