My Top Ten Breastfeeding Books

There are great web resources now for breastfeeding information but I've got to say each time I had a newborn I loved having a book nearby to browse. 
These are not listed in order of preference,  if I had to pick one for a present to a pregnant mother, it would be Breastfeeding Made Simple (no. 8) . Its a easy to read , calm and respectful book to mothers and babies. Backed up by a great website. 

Feel free to add more in the comments section , if there's a book you particularly liked or found useful. 
Here we go...
1) The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding - LLL- Diana West, Diane Wiessinger, Teresa Pitman.
 The new edition has just been published and its fantastic ! Theres a comment from a breastfeeding supporter in Ireland on page 66, its me !  It's the first time I've been acknowledged in a book  ( I'm named twice in the acknowledgements . It made my day. )

2) So That's what they are For - Janet Tamaro
 A witty , girlfriend type book with accurate info for all stages of breastfeeding. 

3) Bestfeeding - Mary Renfrew, Chloe Fisher . 
The first book on breastfeeding I ever read. Twas in my bag in the Coombe all those years ago ! Lots of illustrations - needed in the first few days as most new mothers cant process text when sleep deprived . 

4) Saggy Boobs  and other Breastfeeding Myths- Valerie Finnigan , Lou Gardnier. 
Great book for a breastfeeding Support group , just leave it lying around for mums to browse though. 

5) The Breastfeeding Mothers Guide to making more milk- Diana West, Lisa Marasco
I recommend this one to mothers who had problems breastfeeding on a previous baby. Most of the time its just poor management but sometimes there are other issues that can be helped if caught early. 

6) No Cry Sleep Solution - Elizabeth Pantley. 
When the lack of sleep starts to bother you , this book will give you hope. 

7) Supporting Sucking Skills - Catherine Watson Genna. 
More of one for professionals but I ate it one day  for lunch and dinner. If you want to know more about tongue ties , Catherine Watson Genna's your woman. 

8) Sleeping With Your Baby - Dr James McKenna
See number 6 - you really do get more sleep . Here's the research to back it up and feel  to safe when some "well-meaning" person tells you otherwise. 

9) Breastfeeding Made Simple - Nancy Morbacher , Kathleen Kendall Tackett
Probably my favourite at the moment , looking forward to a new edition due out in December 2010.

10) Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple (2010 ed) by Nancy Morbacher . 
This is really for breastfeeding counsellors but its an excellent resource guide , the  a-z of breastfeeding .  

Links to Amazon 


Tomorrow I'll list my favourite websites . 

2 comments:

PragmaticMom said...

Great list. I breastfed my three kids for a total of 5.5 years. I would love to repost of my blog, linking to you and crediting you if that is ok with you.

Nicola O'Byrne said...

Thank you ! yes of course you can repost. Nicola