Quick 'n' Dirty Book Reviews: Three Books on Breastfeeding

I don't seem to be motivated to sit and write proper reviews of these books right now, so I'm going to knock out a few thoughts and possibly return to them later. The irony of me reviewing books on breastfeeding before having done any breastfeeding does not escape me. All of these books were loaned to me by my doula.



First, the American Academy of Pediatrics publishes the New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding. This isn't a bad book, but it's kind of basic and yet at the same time, makes things sound so complicated and scientific that it's rather daunting. I wish I hadn't read this book first out of the books I've read on breastfeeding.



Second, Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett wrote Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers. This is an excellent book. It's very straightforward and brief (well, 250 pages isn't quite brief, but it seems brief compared to the next tome), but at the same time, it allows for a wide range of "normal" which I think is important. They've provided loads of troubleshooting strategies and some basic philosophies which sound accurate to me. I love this book and I'm so glad I read it. The approach of natural laws, with a chapter for each one, resonates with me. I strongly recommend this book.



La Leche League publishes the classic book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and it's a huge book - 463 pages! I wasn't sure how you could possibly have so much to say about breastfeeding, until I started reading it, and realized that it's more of a parenting book. There are chapters on nutrition, returning to work, the father's role, etc. I think for the most part, the breastfeeding information is good.

Unfortunately, I have several huge beefs with this book, the biggest one is that it's blisteringly heterosexist. In the AAP book, it's largely written to mom and baby. Mohrbacher and Kendall-Tackett take more or less the same approach. Unfortunately, LLL have written a book (revised in 2004) that's more than just about the act of feeding the baby, and state at the beginning of the book that they feel that "breastfeeding and mothering progress more easily in (a heterosexual nuclear family) environment." They acknowledge how old school this is by saying they know there are single mothers out there. I guess no one has mentioned to them that parents come in more form factors than the man/woman dyad. Crikey.

I wish I'd skipped the chapter on returning to work. I read it hoping for useful information on pumping, migrating to pumping and bottle feeding, negotiating for time to pump at work, etc. However, the chapter was largely example after example of women who originally planned to return to work, and then fell in love with their babies so much they decided not to. Just between you, me and LLL: We'd go tits up pretty quick (pun intended) if I don't go back to work when my paid leave ends. I don't expect to be happy to be gone from the baby for 8 - 10 hours a day, but fortunately, I do love my job and I'll be leaving her with my DH, her dad, rather than strangers, so it shouldn't be too bad.

I haven't finished this book yet, and I'm not sure I'm going to. There's a chapter on discipline, and one on kids with special needs... I may just return this to my doula and ask for it back if I feel like I need it. The LLL book has loads of good info on breastfeeding but it's so wrapped up in this other opinionated junk that it makes me cranky reading it. Of course, I am kinda cranky right now anyway...

Book Review: Nothing But Newborn

This book is another short read - these parenting books are making me wonder about my future attention span. Am I going to be read anything smaller than 18 point font and one hundred pages next month? I'm deluded enough to be planning - well, considering - a 10 hour (each way) road trip while on my six week mat leave, so call me an optimist.

Written by Janet A. Stockheim MD, the subtitle is "A First Month Primer for Parents." Stockheim is a pediatrician with loads of experience caring for newborns and, I infer, managing their parents. In brief, I'm glad I bought this book though it has some major flaws. I expect it will save me and my pediatrician a few anxious midnight phone calls.

She includes some very helpful info about things that are normal and not to worry about, such as rashes, the normal range/quantity/appearance of stools, and cord stump care. She addresses in a simple, step by step manner how to sponge bathe a newborn, and a few questions about caring for newborn genitalia that some parents might be shy to ask their doctor. Throughout there are also alerts to issues to which you do want to draw your doctor's attention

There are a couple of excellent sections for the stressed out parent, reminding us that babies largely communicate their needs by crying, how to manage your expectations of their abilities, and resources to draw upon when you're at your last straw. Most of what she says echoes what my midwives have taught me and what I've read other places, so I feel good about the reliability of the info.

Unfortunately, the book glosses over bedsharing, by simply saying don't do it, it's dangerous. Stockheim goes so far to suggest that bedsharing causes SIDS, by including it in the list of causes of SIDS. The Sleeping With Your Baby book I previously reviewed by James McKenna is also a quick, inexpensive read where you'll get much more useful, and I feel more accurate information in this regard.

Finally, though Stockheim devotes a good size section to breastfeeding, throughout the rest of the book, it seems that formula feeding is the default. For example, thickening formula with cereal is frequently suggested as a troubleshooting strategy for various problems. Some information is out of date, such as warning HIV positive mothers that the virus can be transmitted through breast milk, even though the latest research shows that exclusive breastfeeding reduces transmission substantially.

The misinformation continues with statements like "if your breast milk is slow to come in, it is fine to offer infant formula to... maintain her hydration". Huh? Everything I've read says that newborns are waterlogged, have very low nutritional requirements in the first few days and besides, have stomachs the size of chickpeas. Additionally, the more you breastfeed, the more milk you make - if you start supplementing, you reduce your chances of ramping up your production.

A great book on breastfeeding that I'd recommend with much better breastfeeding info is Breastfeeding Made Simple, Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers by Mohrbacher and Kendall-Tackett. I'll be doing a full review of this book soon - but in brief, I really like it!

In sum, there is a lot to like about Nothing But Newborn, but substantial bits of it bugged me too. I recommend it in a qualified way, so long as the reader promises to look elsewhere for info on bedsharing and breastfeeding!

Any favourite newborn books or websites out there that you like? Anyone else read this book?

Book Review: The Expectant Parents' Companion

Today I'm reviewing another book loaned to me by my doula: The Expectant Parents' Companion by Kathleen Huggins.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book just from the title, but the subtitle is the giveaway: "Simplifying what to do, buy or borrow for an easy life with baby." The book starts with some good checklists of things to do at different stages, such as interviewing and selecting a pediatrician in the third trimester (something which I've not finished yet and I'm not anxious about at all).

The subsequent sections delve into each to do and buy item in more depth, such as: buy a stroller. The stroller section goes into great detail about the types of strollers available, and the pros and cons of each. This was the first place I read a good explanation of what an umbrella stroller is!

There is a substantial section on breastfeeding and another on formula feeding - the formula section is a lot longer, but of course, it's a more complex topic. Overall, the book is very pro-breastfeeding and briefly reviews a number of the reasons why breastfeeding is better, whenever possible. The author is lactation consultant, so if it weren't pretty pro-breastfeeding, I'd be surprised...

This book contains loads of practical advice, aimed at new parents who want to learn about what types of baby gear is really necessary, and what are (expensive) optional items. It appeals to my frugality a great deal. It's written clearly and accessibly for complete newbies like me!

If I were editing or writing a new version of this book, I'd include a section on getting stuff for free or cheap. There are a lot of ways to do this, including using your local Freecycle, swap meets, and of course, inviting people coming to your baby shower to bring you their hand-me-down goods. My recommendation is to be specific about things you want new, or about which you are very particular: for me, I'm feeling fussy about the crib and stroller I've picked out but the rest of it - whatever!

Let me know if you've read this and what you thought of it. I'd love to hear from you if you've found or written a good must-have (or waste of money) list of baby gear as well.

I'm off for a week's vacation, so I may be offline for awhile. Hope you have a great week - see you next time. Thanks for stopping by.

Book review: Sleeping With Your Baby

Book review time! This is another book loaned to me by my doula. I'm so delighted that I read it.

It's a very short book (128 pages) with lots of white space and images, so it's a rather quick read. It's largely divided up into three sections: an introduction, a how to cosleep and an FAQ, but each section is divided up into mini-subsections of a page or three in length, so the whole book reads like a (well written and interesting) FAQ. 

The introduction gives some anthropological background on cosleeping in other cultures and species. The how to is probably the most important section as it explains how to cosleep and what can be dangerous. The FAQ addresses a hodgepodge of other miscellaneous concerns, such as twins, premature babies and lack of pediatrician support.

I had a couple of important take-aways from this book. First, the author, James McKenna points to research which shows a significant reduction in SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) when the baby sleeps in the same room as the parents. Note that this doesn't need to be in the same bed - just the same room. 

Second, McKenna gives the reader a bit of a taxonomy of cosleeping. Cosleeping means to have an infant share a bedroom with a parent. Bedsharing means to share the parents' bed with the infant.

McKenna is very strongly in favour of breastfeeding, though he acknowledges it may not work for everyone - but he says that cosleeping can very much support breastfeeding. 

I'm personally really glad I read this book. I always liked the idea of bedsharing, but for a number of reasons, which the how to cosleep section confirmed for me, I'd intuitively felt it was potentially dangerous for us to do (too many pillows, sometimes drinking too much, I do odd things in my sleep sometimes). But knowing that the SIDS risk reduction is just from cosleeping in the same room, not necessarily from bedsharing, is a great gift. 

Cosleeping is more acceptable to me and my DH, and fits better with his culture as well. How to sleep with your infant(s) is a very personal choice, and I'm so glad to come into this with more information.

I do feel that McKenna kind of glosses over the impact of bedsharing on a couple's sex life - this is the only place I found it addressed:

Intimacy will have to be less spontaneous. You may need to start scheduling time together... find some other place to be intimate... or move the baby to a crib or bassinet after he falls asleep.

I guess this was my biggest question about bedsharing - what about the sex? But perhaps that just reveals my naivete about what comes next in terms of post-partum sex frequency... I guess I'm trying to be optimistic.

Anyone have any other infant sleeping resource recommendations? I know there are a lot out there!

Book Review: Understanding Your Moods When You're Expecting

I'm a big reader and enjoy sharing books with friends, and I was thinking I'd write here about a few of the books that I've read about pregnancy and parenting. I've signed up to be an Amazon Associate, which means that if you use the link provided to the book reviewed, I will make a tiny commission. I was setting this up just as the delisting of queer content shitstorm happened. I went back and forth on whether I'd go ahead with putting up the Amazon links along with the book reviews, and decided I would, though I'm quite unhappy with them these days. Wow, that makes me sound like I'm a total mercenary, or something, eh?

At any rate, my doula loaned me a pile of books which I should really return to her, so I'm going to go through those first. The first is Understanding Your Moods When You're Expecting by Dr Lucy Puryear. 

When I found this in the pile of books, I was skeptical of its value. I wondered how you fill up a whole book with you're pregnant, so you're going to be cranky and weepy, have fun! I decided I'd give it a try anyway.

Dr Puryear is a psychiatrist specializing in female reproductive mental health - a field it hadn't occurred to me exists until I read her book! Like so many pregnancy books, this one is largely divided into temporal phases: first, second, third trimester and post-partum. Throughout, Puryear presents how a lot of the emotions pregnant women experience are hormone related, and she also touches on how women already in psychiatric care for depression or other issues and taking medication, may experience pregnancy.

The first trimester section has some invaluable bits, including a nice section called The Conspiracy of Silence, which addresses in a very sensitive way, how problematic it is that we are so ashamed to hide miscarriages, and not talk about being pregnant until later in the pregnancy. (There is an article I really like on Babble.com by Christine Chitnis that looks at this issue as well.) Puryear talks a lot about trusting your instincts and your trust of information sources, because of the boundless quantity of conflicting information out there on pregnancy. 

I found that for me personally, the second trimester chapters didn't really capture my experience. I think this is because Puryear talks a lot about husbands feeling disconnected and nervous about the coming baby, whereas in my case, it's me that's the nervous newbie and he's more confident about parenthood than me; and anxiety about weight gain is another big topic, and for me my main weight gain worry was the week I lost five pounds. I think that it's probably really good content for a lot of women though. 

The third trimester section is great, covering what I imagine are common anxieties and concerns with the impending birth. Something I really like is that throughout, she presents examples of clients and their family situations (Western traditional nuclear or not), and the complexities of their dynamics, like the woman who didn't want to ask her mother for help after the baby comes, because the new grandmother would take it as a confirmation of her daughter's incompetence. Stuff like that is so real! Puryear gives some good ideas about how to handle the family craziness and also get the support you need.

For me, the real value in this book is the last few sections looking at the emotional impact  of birth and post-partum. I've not yet blogged about this and I'm not sure I will, but I'm pretty sure my mother had pretty bad undiagnosed post-partum depression after the birth of my little sister and probably after me too. 

PPD is so common - according to Puryear, up to 1 in 10 women experience it after giving birth. Puryear presents examples of clients with varying degrees of PPD and how she or other practitioners helped them through it. She also advocates breastfeeding newborns as much as possible, though for some women, she allows that it's more stress and pressure than it is worth. Puryear provides some useful warning signs of PPD which are also available on her website so I won't reproduce them here, but I encourage anyone who is pregnant or knows someone who is pregnant to go check them out.

I was surprised at how valuable I found this book to be and I'm glad it came my way. If what I've written interests you, I encourage you to get your hands on a copy. It's a quick read (199 pages in the edition I have)  and written in a very accessible style.