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Showing posts with label Breastfeeding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breastfeeding. Show all posts

Book Review

0 comments at 5:49 PM

Elita at Blacktating reviews The The Politics of Breastfeeding: When Breasts are Bad for Business by Gabrielle Palmer.

 

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Breastfeeding Facts for Fathers

0 comments at 11:48 PM

Check out Molly Remer's book review of Breastfeeding Facts for Fathers at the Citizens for Midwifery blog.

 

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Molly Reads

0 comments at 11:01 PM

Molly Reads reviews three books I own and have read (though not necessarily blogged about):

Childbirth Education: Practice, Research and Theory, by Francine H. Nichols and Sharron Smith Humenick. (review)

Milk, Money, and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding, by Naomi Baumslag, MD and Dia L. Michels. (review)

Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care, by Jennifer Block. (review)

 

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0 comments at 12:11 PM

Your Pregnancy Recovery Guide, by Glade B. Curtis and Judith Schuler.

The best thing about this book is that - being a book only about the postpartum period - it is fairly comprehensive. It describes in detail what one should expect, both physically and emotionally, after giving birth. There is slightly more emphasis on the physical aspects, including exercise and nutrition, than the socio-psychological aspects. It answers a lot of questions that moms may have, such as which pregnancy changes will go away in time (linea nigra) and which may not (larger shoe size). It also contains information on baby care and returning to work.

This book was written using fairly simple language, without a whole lot of explanation or detail, so I can't really recommend it to moms who are well-educated or who have a lot of knowledge about birth already. There were also a couple of glaring errors in the "Feeding Your Baby" chapter (I hesitate to make disparaging comments about OBs writing about breastfeeding without the input of lactation professionals - perhaps it is a bit out of Dr. Curtis' scope of practice?). For instance:
It won't harm your baby if you cannot or choose not to breastfeed.
Patently untrue. While yes, formula feeding may be the best choice for some moms, it is not without risks, and it can harm babies. For instance, four babies in every thousand die because they are not breastfed. Formula fed babies are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized for a bacterial infection. And these statistics pertain to the US, not to developing countries without access to clean water.
When you decide to discontinue nursing, you can either taper off gradually or stop cold turkey. Each way has its advantages.
There's an advantage to quitting cold turkey? None that I know of. It's bad for mom and bad for baby. Oh, it takes less time. Hm.

So, while this book may be helpful for some moms, I can't recommend it without reservation.

 

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0 comments at 11:05 PM

Fresh Milk: The Secret Life of Breasts, by Fiona Giles.

From the back cover:

While countless breastfeeding guides crowd bookshelves, not one of them speaks to women with anything approaching bestselling author Fiona Giles's level of intimacy and vitality. In Fresh Milk, through a provocative collection of stories, memories, and personal accounts, Giles uncovers the myths and truths of the lactating breast.

 

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0 comments at 9:01 PM

Babies, breastfeeding, and bonding, by Ina May Gaskin.

Out of print and hard to come by (Amazon has only 1 copy available), this 1987 book by midwifery pioneer Ina May Gaskin is a treasure. I was amazed at how much useful and accurate information is in this book, written at a time when so much advice given to women about breastfeeding was just plain wrong. Try to find it at your local library or used-book store.

 

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