Breastfeeding: A Parent's Guide, Ninth Edition

by Amy Spangler

A practical step-by-step guide for today's parents--parents who wonder if breastfeeding will work in their busy lives. Friendly, personal, and honest, Breastfeeding, A Parent's Guide separates breastfeeding facts from myths. It answers the questions most often asked about breastfeeding and discusses the realities of breastfeeding for today's parents. Detailed drawings, clear instructions, and helpful advice make this the breastfeeding book parents refer to over and over again.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Self Help, Health

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that one of my midwives handed to me after I asked about a good breast-feeding book. I inquired after two other titles, and she included this one.

This is a very short, concise, on point book for a practical approach to breast-feeding. She lays out the argument for why it is best for baby, the benefits, the concerns, the commonly asked questions, the "bumps" that arise (things that go wrong or make it more difficult), as well as a general knowledge of the physiological changes going on. Not only does she present to normal facts, but the special cases of premies, multiples, the working mom, or breast-pumps. This is a no-nonsense approach with very easy to understand language, written for the new mom and dad to give them a working understanding of what's to come, what to expect, and a quick reference guide to refer to as often as needed.

I found it to be extremely redundant, but didn't mind, since these are things you want to remember, not just read once and forget about it. The biggest appeal to this book is how short it is, yet how well it informs. Anyone can read this and finish it. This is not a long and heavy book, but a simple and straightforward resource.

I would highly recommend this to any pregnant momma, whether she has thought about breast-feeding or not. I think everyone woman should read it before the baby comes and consider what the author has to say. I'll be keeping this book around for after the baby comes. (:

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have the ninth edition. There is lots of information in this book and diagrams as well to give you extra visuals. A lot of it is repetitive, but since they break it down into sections, you can easily look back and reference as needed and find all the information you would need in once section.

You could probably find all of this information on random blogs and articles on the internet, but I liked having this all in one place. It gives me some place to start when other people offer advice such as "it'll come natural". This offers helpful tips as to how to hold baby when nursing, ways to rub your breast to hand express your milk, and tips to prevent nipple pain or other issues.

I would definitely recommend for anyone who wants more information than "you'll know what to do when the time comes".

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was distributed at my breastfeeding class. Didn’t finish but was glad to have it as a reference. I even brought it to the hospital with me! A lot was redundant from chapter to chapter, but that’s a good thing, as those reading it won’t fully comprehend breastfeeding until they’re actually doing it. It ensures important tenets are spotted, if not reading straight through. You might be able to get all the info online, but I personally preferred having this in book format to reference as needed.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Redundant, but nice reference book. Organized well. Since this will be my first baby to breastfeed, hard to know how helpful the book is until baby is born I’m able to implement the advice. Will try to come back to this review later.

Taking this in the hospital bag for sure to refer to!

[Lindsay Holdren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, not the best resource/read. It’s a good place to start, but the information is repetitive, basic, and one-sided. You’ll need to make sure you are doing other forms of research as well.

[Liesl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very basic, quick reference guide on the topic of breastfeeding. A lot of the advice given to deal with problems is basic common sense and somewhat repetitive, and the hand-drawn illustrations throughout are an odd yet interesting visual choice. There isn't much material in here that I wasn't already familiar with from parenting classes or experience, but it is nice to have this information on hand when needed.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Spangler does a wonderful job demystifying breastfeeding, and gives women the opportunity to make informed decisions about their infants' and their own health. This book should be given to all moms, especially first time moms or those debating the pros and cons of breast- and formula-feeding.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

very helpful

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this with each kiddo- a great refresher and easy/fast to read!

[Aisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a great overview of breastfeeding and very easy and quick to read and reference. I kept on hand and looked it over with each new baby. It is reasonable and basic.

[Mikel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to keep on hand. It's packed in our bag to take to the hospital as my reference guide.

[Flora Maia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The breastfeeding guide

[Dennise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just enough. The gist of breast feeding but not as helpful as other books.

[Lacey Louwagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good beginner's guide to breastfeeding -- it's short and broken into clear sections with illustrations and bulleted text, so it's not intimidating but still packed with really good information. It gets a bit repetitive if you read it straight through (which I did), but I can see why certain bits of important information were repeated often since most people who read this will skip around to the sections that are relevant to them, so the most crucial info needs to be in pretty much all those sections. Would definitely recommend to those who are put off by massive breastfeeding tomes like The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding but who are still interested in practical info and tips on nursing a baby.