Rating: 
Summary: Trial and error experience combined with knowledge
Review: Defining Your Own Success: Breastfeeding After Beast Reduction Surgery is specifically written to enable mothers who have had breast reduction surgery to breastfeed their babies. Though breastfeeding after such surgery is generally thought impossible, recent advances in breast reduction surgical techniques now allow lactation capabilities to be better retained than in the past. Trial and error experience combined with knowledge has allowed thousands of post-surgical women to breastfeed in spite of the obstacles. Defining Your Own Success explicitly describes how to maximize a woman's milk supply and confront challenges. A special section is also devoted specifically to the professional perspective, from health care providers to plastic surgeons and maternity nurses. Personal anecdotes and several appendices round out this well thought-out reference. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: This book is invaluable for BFAR moms...
Review: I refer this book to all pregnant or breastfeeding women I come into contact with (mostly over the internet) who have had breast reduction surgery. This book is the only one that exists on this topic that I know of. It is an absolute must-have for any woman who has had a breast reduction and is either pregnant or breastfeeding. The book is very well-written and highly accurate. There are stories from "real" BFAR moms that are very touching. The book's title says it all. You can successfully breastfeed your child after reduction -- no question about it. The book describes this beautifully! Some women who BFAR have a full supply and others need to supplement -- all are successful and have that great BFAR relationship with their child. There is nothing that compares. Women receive a lot of misinformation about breastfeeding -- especially breastfeeding after reduction -- from doctors, nurses, lactation consultants and others they look to for support and information. Unfortunately this misinformation jeopardizes the BFAR'ing relationship and it comes to an end. This book gives BFAR moms all of the information and support they need to have a wonderful and successful BFAR relationship with their child. As I stated before -- it is a must-have!
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable if you plan to BFAR
Review: I was so glad to find this book while pregnant with my son! It really answered all the questions I had about attempting breastfeeding after my breast reduction surgery. There is much good information about the various reduction techniques and likliehood of successful BFAR (breastfeeding after reduction) with each technique. The book includes personal stories with a variety of BFAR experiences as well as tips for increasing and, if necessarly, supplementing your milk supply. It really focuses on the aspects of breastfeeding that are unique to those who have undergone breast reduction surgery, and, in companion with a good book on breastfeeding basics, is all you need!
Rating:
Summary: You must read this book!
Review: Incredible....Amazing....Inspirational! Everyone that wants to breastfeed after a breast reduction or help someone do so must read this book. This book is the only comprehensive body of information on this topic. It covers breast reduction techniques, reasons to breastfeed, ways to supplement, methods to maximize your milk supply, issues specific to breastfeeding after reduction, and real life stories. Diana's insight offers practical and emotional support to those breastfeeding after reduction.
Rating:
Summary: You must read this book!
Review: Incredible....Amazing....Inspirational! Everyone that wants to breastfeed after a breast reduction or help someone do so must read this book. This book is the only comprehensive body of information on this topic. It covers breast reduction techniques, reasons to breastfeed, ways to supplement, methods to maximize your milk supply, issues specific to breastfeeding after reduction, and real life stories. Diana's insight offers practical and emotional support to those breastfeeding after reduction.
Rating:
Summary: You must read this book!
Review: Incredible...Amazing...Inspirational! Everyone that wants to breastfeed after a breast reduction or help others do so must read this book. This book is the only comprehensive body of information on this topic. It covers breast reduction techniques, reasons to breastfeed, ways to supplement while breastfeeding, methods to maximize your milk supply and real life stories. Diana's views are insightful and enormously helpful to someone trying to breastfeed from both a practical and emotional perspective!
Rating:
Summary: You must read this book!
Review: Incredible...Amazing...Inspirational! Everyone that wants to breastfeed after a breast reduction or help others do so must read this book. This book is the only comprehensive body of information on this topic. It covers breast reduction techniques, reasons to breastfeed, ways to supplement while breastfeeding, methods to maximize your milk supply and real life stories. Diana's views are insightful and enormously helpful to someone trying to breastfeed from both a practical and emotional perspective!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: This a fantastic book for the woman who is preparing to breastfeed after breast reduction surgery, who is currently breastfeeding after surgery, family members of such a woman who want to offer her support, lactation consultants and any health care practitioner who works with breastfeeding mothers. It covers every aspect of breastfeeding after reduction from the reasons why women have this surgery, the different types of surgeries and how they can impact lactation, to the benefits of feeding at the breast and the benefits of breastmilk, the practical considerations of BFAR, how to increase milk supply and the emotional aspects BFAR. In addition to being a wealth of practical information, I also found this book to be a wonderful reminder of why breastfeeding is best. It was inspiring and motivating. I only wish this book had been around when I had my first child. I know it would have made a world of difference to my daughter's and my attempt at BFAR. I highly recommend this book to any woman contemplating breastfeeding after reduction and any woman considering breast reduction surgery and even suspects she may want to breastfeed her future children.
Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE resource
Review: This book is an incredible resource, and not just for those breastfeeding after reduction surgery. It contains wonderful breastfeeding info from how the breast works to herbs/drugs available to increase supply.
Oh yeah, and it also contains wonderful and complete information, as well as personal stories, regarding breastfeeding after reduction surgery!
I got this book while pregnant, and it really helped me set realistic expectations for what to expect. My supply turned out to be really low and it has invaluable resources for ways to increase supply. I still only produce around 8 ounces a day, but I've stuck with it and am still nursing my 13 month old.
Try to keep in mind that you won't know how you feel about this until you actually have your baby. Get this book and get educated. Then when the going gets rough, make a decision that you know in your heart you won't end up regretting.
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Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, invaluable, especially for bf "helpers"
Review: This book is simply wonderful. Tons of scientific information presented in a thoroughly readable fashion. Personal stories of BFAR women are wonderful. The book offers tons of hope to BFAR mothers. More importantly, it also offers empowerment and respect. There is no false hope offered for a "perfect" breastfeeding experience, nor is there any second guessing of the mother's decision to have the reduction surgery. Only straight forward information about what reduction surgery does to the mammary system, how milk production can be maximized, tools and techniques to assist in BFAR, and the respect for the mother to go forward and make the best decision about how to handle her personal BFAR experience. The chapter about "Defining Your Own Success" I found especially wonderful. As a person who helps other mothers by giving them breastfeeding information, it was a wonderful piece to give me the tools to help mothers who have had a less than "perfect" breastfeeding experience (even if not related to BFAR) make peace with her experience. It is no surprise that Diana West is a La Leche League leader. This is a very typical and wonderful example of the warmth, respect, and non-judgementalism that La Leche League leaders are known for exhibiting. Every mother who has had a breast reduction or is contemplating a breast reduction should read this book. All lactation consultants, pediatricians, obstetricians, plastic surgeons, La Leche League Leaders, midwives and doulas should read this book.
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