The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding La Leche 8th edition

[Staff]

Dedicated forum page for the book - The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding La Leche 8th edition. Here you may ask questions, discuss book summary and post reviews of the book.. If you have read this as a book or audiobook or in an ebook/pdf format, please leave your opinions. PS: This is a Staff post moved to top.

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[Bridgette]

Well, I don’t think this book is everyone’s cup of tea although the authors claim that it is. According to this book, every single woman is supposed to have a radiant relationship with breastfeeding or is supposed to align their lifestyle in such a manner that the top priority is given to breastfeeding and not anything else. But we all know that cannot be the case with every single woman on earth. So, all women may not be able to take things written in this book in the right stride.

But in my case, this book helped me immensely. I am someone who is completely into the concepts of breastfeeding as mentioned in the book. And whenever I thought that I was going overboard or doing things more than what is required, this book told me that I was on the right track and I need not be worried about it.

The book contains stories of other women who have gone through various issues and many a times I had my solutions right there. So, I think this book can definitely be given a try by every woman; whether to agree with what is written in the book or to follow the contents is totally up to an individual.

 

[Haley]

I bought this book when I was pregnant with my first child and only one till now and I am glad I chose this particular book out of many others that are available in the market. I made sure that I read this book before I delivered my girl and I read it with rapt attention so that I could put the information to use once my child was born.

It was great having such information before hand and it helped me prepare mentally as well as emotionally for all the troubles that I might face but it was more or less a very smooth journey for me. And I think just because I was well prepared with the right mindset, I had almost everything in place.

Now the time has come to slowly wean my girl because I see that she is ready and this book is being a great help even now.

 

[Adela]

This book gets 3 stars from me just because of the information it provides on different breastfeeding topics. It has all the relevant information covered from pregnancy to infant care, different feeding techniques, unique ways of troubleshooting breastfeeding issues and much more. There are good references for other aspects as well like sleeping, feeding solids etc.

But there are things in this book I found really annoying and I think I hate the attitude of people who are in this league because they have penned down a very judgemental book. Moreover, they even claim that the medical community knows nothing about breastfeeding and their league is the only trusted source that can help you out accurately with various problems of breastfeeding.

What angered me the most was they look down upon any kind of medication that helps you during birthing or making use of any kind of birthing assistance like caesarean. I myself give topmost priority to natural birthing but at the same time I also know and accept that in some scenarios, it is not possible and I think they should realize its importance too.

They also have issues with women using formula milk or pumped breast milk in a bottle. It doesn’t seem good enough for them because the baby is not feeding naturally.

So, apart from the information, I think it is a major let down for all the women and does more harm than good to them if they don’t have the perfect natural birth or feeding experience. So, I don’t think I would recommend it to anyone and everyone I know.

Its risky to do that!! You might pave the way for a woman to go into depression if things are not going the way as mentioned in the book. I think the book should be re-written, keeping all that wonderful information but editing those things that particularly do not provide any kind of emotional support to women during breastfeeding.

 

[Bernadine]

The book has its positives and negatives and lets start with the positives.

It is a store house of information on breastfeeding and has many useful tips for first time mothers on pumping to the benefits of breastfeeding. The book is pro-breastfeeding and encourages mothers to breastfeed their children as much and as long as possible.

Numerous way have been mentioned in the book to tackle various issues that a mother might face during breastfeeding and it gives you tips on how you can stay dedicated through the entire process too.

Now lets come to the negatives. I felt the book does a lot of assumption and is outdated in many ways when it comes to their understanding of women.

I do get that the book was published in 2004 and things have changed so much since then. For instance, the authors of the book assume that I will wait till my husband gets home so that I can get some rest while there is someone to take care of the baby. It also goes on to say that I should take time out to educate my husband on how to be an understanding and loving father. It also suggests that I should wait as long as possible to resume my office work and spend time with my baby. That is fine but one should understand that most working women out there do not have the luxury to do that.

And it also talks about a scenario where a husband has lost his interest in the baby and I need to talk to him and coax him out of it so that he gives some amount of attention to the baby. I would never do that. What kind of a father loses interest in his own baby.

So, in such ways I think the book is outdated and needs and update and most importantly some good acknowledgement for the needs of a woman.

 

[Flossie]

This book was my lifesaver when I was having big time issues while breastfeeding and it acted as an excellent resource for me while I breastfed my twins.

La Leche League definitely has a bad reputation for having a judgemental and dominating attitude towards breastfeeding but none of that is reflected in the book.

The book is a rich source of knowledge when it comes to breastfeeding, the do’s and don’ts, the various issues a woman faces and how they can combat them. And the troubleshooting section is simply amazing and unique in many ways; it can take care of most of your breastfeeding issues.

I would recommend every mother to own a copy of this book so that breastfeeding becomes a joyful thing for both the mother and the baby.

 

[Ila]

It would be wrong on my part if I don’t say that the book has some great information on breastfeeding because it does. But I wouldn’t give it a 4 star or a 5 star rating because it is way to judgemental and is not sensitive to the needs of a woman. It looked like an ideological manifesto than a guide which said this is wrong and that is right.

The book also angered me at many junctures when I wanted some good solutions and all I got in return after reading it was impractical things. For example, I badly needed help with my night time feedings and when I looked it up in the book, I got a shock of my life because it said mothers don’t need a full night’s sleep and if they are sleep deprived, then they should think it is good for the baby. It in fact made me feel guilty about being concerned about my sleep needs.

I seriously thought it was wrong to do so and felt so guilty about it that I cried my heart out to one of my friends, who then pacified me by saying that many things written in the book are stupid and I needn’t be so emotionally bowled by them. She asked me to stay strong and do what I felt was right for me and my baby. Now that is what is called support; the book can be used as an antonym for the word.

 

[Greta]

I really wish I had known of this book’s existence before my first born or at least while I was breastfeeding her. I struggled a lot due to lack of help and this book could have guided me through the entire process which the other books failed to do. It has some good information and great advice for breastfeeding mothers.

When I got pregnant with my second child, my best friend who knew of my breastfeeding struggles got this book for me and I thought of giving this book a try. I read it although I had no high hopes because the best of best books had failed me last time.

As I started reading, I was pleasantly surprised by what the book had to offer. It is one amazing piece written in a well-organized manner with stories of other breast feeding women who had all kinds of problems and issues while doing it along with what they did to overcome those situations.

Those stories along with all the tips and advice written in the book helped me relate it to the troubles I had and I could easily sort it out this time.

 

[Ruthie]

Let me take you back in time when I breastfed my baby for 18 months and it is a heavenly experience which women experience. But at the same time, breast feeding is a big time commitment. There is a lot of hard work to be done and it really hurts in the beginning.

Most people think that it is all natural and instinctive but in reality it is not. I don’t know if it has been that way for others but for me it has never been so easy and all natural. I had to take time out of my schedule and learn it with the help of lactation consultants by attending classes.

And I bought this book in between all that mess so that it could support me and help me out but it did the exact opposite and added pressure to my already existing fears. And especially after the success of 18 months of lactation, I referred to the book on how to wean away my baby from breastfeeding and it made me feel bad and guilty that I was trying to wean her at all.

I think that was the day I felt I had enough and I threw the book in the trash can.

 

[Nelda]

The title of the book made it look as if the book had everything about breastfeeding covered. So, even though I was not a mom, I bought it in order to enhance my knowledge in that area.

But turns out the book is only good enough to help new moms get the hang of latching the child and keeping them in the right position during breastfeeding. That’s all!!!

Plus I found the book to be totally unsupportive of working moms. While I have all the respect for the dedication of those moms who choose to stay at home and quit work to take care of the baby, we must also understand that it is not possible for everyone to do that; these days most of the ladies work and it is completely out of sync and misogynistic to say that women shouldn’t go to work because they cannot breastfeed.

And I found the things written about fathering really offensive. I seriously do not understand what the author was thinking when she wrote this book.

Please do not buy it breast feeding mother, especially the ones who are working; it will only pull your morale down and make you go through some guilt trip.