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Summary: Good info but.....
Review: This book contains great information and was helpful in that area, however the writer is arrogant and came accross in a bad way. I didn't enjoy the book because I felt "talked down" to. There are many great breastfeeding books out there who do not attack in the way she did. If you are not sure about breastfeeding, do not plan to breast feed for an entire year, or if you bottle fed your first then this book may not be good for you. Too many other wonderful books are out there to use if you are just starting out. But if you ahve breastfed before and really enjoyed it or wanted to do it for an entire year and didn't make it and would like to try again with another baby then this book can also come accross with some hilarious truths.
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Summary: Good book, if you're 100% committed to breastfeeding...
Review: But not a good resource if you're breastfeeding and struggling, considering trying out a bottle or giving up on breastfeeding altogether.My son is 5 weeks old and the first 4 weeks breastfeeding were hellish. I originally wanted to breastfeed, but didn't realize how difficult it would be for us (we have been through problems with latch, cracked nipples, thrush, etc). I bought several breastfeeding books to read, with the goal that I would be motivated to continue breastfeeding. Those books were this one, "The Nursing Mother's Companion", and "The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding". "So that's what they're for" made me feel guilty for giving my son an occasional bottle and made me feel like a bad mother for considering giving up breastfeeding entirely. It also didn't have enough detail on the problems that can crop up during breastfeeding such as thrush. I found "The Nursing Mother's Companion" to be a more suitable guide for me.
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Summary: Read only if you want a lecture
Review: The first portion of this book is a huge lecture on the benefits of breastfeeding. Something I don't think has been up for debate in decades. The author is very militant in her views against "artificial milk" or formula, and her message to moms seems to be Do it or Die trying--even if everyone is miserable. Even as a huge advocate of breastfeeding, I was put off by this book. The author's tone is very argumentative, and she conveys a mistrust of pediatricians and hospitals. The book does eventually get around to offering some beneficial information--but you still have to weed through an overwhelming amount of opinion. When I purchased this book I was hoping for detailed information and advise on breastfeeding successfully in a "Girlfriend's Guide" formatt. I was very disappointed.
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Summary: Best book on breastfeeding
Review: This is absolutely the best book on breastfeeding that I have ever read! I love it! It thouroughly covers all the basics plus special circumstances like twins. It is easy to read and understand. It's fun to read. I guarantee you will read and reread it again and again. I did. I found this book in the library when I was pregnant. I bought a copy after my son was born two years ago and never felt the need to buy another. This one gave me all the information and motivation I ever needed. It was because of this book that I found the determination to go ahead with breastfeeding after some problems and setbacks when my son was born. I picked up other books on breastfeeding at the library and all I can say about them in comparison is [snooze].Janet Tamaro gives you everything you'll ever need without putting you to sleep. If you are pregnant or already breastfeeding get this book. I loaned it to a friend and never got it back so I'm buying another because I just had another baby. Thank you Janet Tamaro for such a wonderful book.
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Summary: The best breastfeeding book I have read
Review: I also can't say enough good things about this book. When I began to breastfeed my child, I had no experience. I referred to this book over and over in the first few months. It really seems to answer almost every conceivable question. I really like its blend of humor with practical advice; so many breastfeeding books are a bit too serious for me.
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Summary: Wonderful
Review: I'm recommending this book to all my friends who are expecting. I grew up in a family that breastfeeds (an anomaly at the time) and knew I'd want to breastfeed when I had children, too. Some of the information in the book was information that I had known intuitively - it was interesting to see it explained and described. I might have fumbled along pretty well without the book, but the book will definitely make the adjustment from pregnancy to breastfeeding much more comfortable for me. AND - reading the book gave me the opportunity to really think about and discuss with my husband the changes which breastfeeding would mean for us as a couple, at least initially - and the commitment. The book is scientific without being a difficult read. There is a wealth of humor, practical information, etc. I don't think the book 'preaches' unnecessarily about breastfeeding - it emphasizes the health and nutrition benefits, all of which are documented - but the author recognizes that the length of time for breast-feeding is going to be a personal decision each mother must make.
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Summary: Breastfeed or bust!
Review: As a first-time mom-to-be with a pediatrician husband, I feel a certain obligation to seriously pursue breastfeeding when our baby is born. I was hoping for some practical nonjudgemental advice on the subject, and was a bit upset when I realized that's not what I was going to get with this book. ... I was hoping for a "Girlfriend's Guide" to breastfeeding, but instead got a lecture and a guilt-trip I could have gotten for free had I just picked up the phone and called my mother. I don't think there's anyone who will try to dispute the fact that "breastfeeding is best," but at the same time, I wish there was a book that took a middle-of-the-road position on the matter.....everything I've looked at seems to slant so drastically toward one bias or the other. I won't deny that I did gain some new insight and information from this book that I have found helpful; and I will keep it on hand as a reference should I become extremely desperate. Although I will add, my husband, who is a very devout supporter of breastfeeding, was quite underwhelmed with the book....but, I think that might be because he was a little put off by the fact that Ms. Tamaro seems to think so little of doctors/pediatricians unless they've become certified lactation consultants like herself.
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Summary: Great info and entertaining too
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I think it is important to breast feed. This book gives a lot of good advice and info with some humorous twists. I enjoyed reading it.
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Summary: I love this book!
Review: I had never considered not breastfeeding my baby, of course, but with my family all living fairly far away, I knew I would need some practical help (and some ammunition against my weird in-laws, who are horrified at the idea of nursing a baby with teeth, nursing a toddler, nursing at the mall ...). Not only does STWTF provide this practical information, it does so in a way that enabled me to read it (unlike any other breastfeeding or baby care book I've read) from cover to cover. The author has a great sense of humour and has really done her research (as other reviewers mention, there are some areas that need updating, but the problem is not serious enough -- yet -- for me not to recommend the book). I really liked the fact that she devoted only one chapter to the "why" of nursing (one chapter that, IMHO, makes the point just as well as the whole of "The Womanly Art" -- and this is coming from a card-carrying LLL member!) and the rest of the book to the "how." Because although this book is better than most for converting the undecided, we might as well admit that if you've gone to the lengths of buying a book on breastfeeding, you're probably already planning to at least try it. STWTF is NOT militant or preachy; there are good discussions of pumps and pumping and of nursing and working, and Tamaro acknowledges those little secrets, such as that you can get bored while you're nursing (she suggests renting "chick flicks" and nursing in front of the TV; my own favourite, when my daughter was brand-new, were news magazines that would open up nice and flat on the nursing pillow) and that sometimes some people are going to give you a hard time (her page of snappy comebacks to stupid comments cracks me up more every time I read it). I am lucky enough to live in an area where the majority of new moms do breastfeed to start with, but there's still a lot of really bad "information" about nursing floating around. It's great that Janet Tamaro's book is available to counter that misinformation in such a humorous, non-threatening, reassuring way.
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Summary: Humorous, Non-Threatening, Absolutely Excellent!!
Review: I bought this book five years ago when I was pregnant with my first child. I did not want to breastfeed. I didn't know a single soul who had breastfed. I thought breastfeeding was pretty weird and gross and had already told my husband I was going to bottlefeed. After I read a lot of information on the benefits of breastfeeding in several different magazines and pregnancy/childbirth books, I decided I better look into it a little more. I bought this book simply because I liked the title, and I have been SO extremely grateful ever since. This book is very non-threatening and completely NOT militant! I'm surprised by the reviews I see here saying otherwise - the author was so laid back and respectful, that it actually allowed me to open my mind to the possibility of breastfeeding. If she had been some kind of militant breastfeeding person, I never would have read more than the first few pages - however, I found a funny, sincere author who tried to fairly present breastfeeding [both the advantages and the (often humorous) disadvantages]. I thought she was brilliant. This book is a very "basic" breastfeeding book. It doesn't have all the level of detail of some other books [like "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by La Leche League - a book that has EVERYTHING you'd ever need to know, but is definitely [obviously!] biased towards breastfeeding]. I think this book is a great basic guide for new mothers and a WONDERFUL place to start if you are just considering breastfeeding or trying to make that decision. Incidentally, I did end up nursing my first child successfully, mainly due to this book. My original goal was to breastfeed for 3 months, but it went so well that I ended up nursing her for a whole year! I also used this book when I got pregnant with my second child and nursed him for a year too. Now I am re-reading it while pregnant with my third baby and I am STILL enjoying it! This is money well spent in my opinion!
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