A really great general book about breastfeeding

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Product Description

An Amazing Resource for Nursing Moms

Although breastfeeding is the natural and healthy way to nourish your baby, it’s not always easy. Many new mothers are scared away from nursing because of difficulty getting started and lack of information about what to do when things don’t go as planned. In this fully revised and updated edition of The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers, two of today’s foremost lactation experts help new mothers overcome their fears, doubts, and practical concerns about one of the most special ways a mother can bond with her baby.

In this comprehensive guide, Dr. Jack Newman, a leading authority on infant care, and Teresa Pitman, a La Leche League leader for more than twenty years, give you the facts about breastfeeding and provide solutions for the common problems that arise. Filled with the same practical advice that made the first edition a must-have for nursing moms, the new edition features updates on:

• Achieving a good latch

• What to do if your baby refuses the breast

• Avoiding sore nipples

• Ensuring your baby gets enough milk

• Feeding a colicky baby

• Breastfeeding premature and special-needs babies

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18199 in Books
• Brand: Ameda
• Published on: 2006-11-28
• Released on: 2006-11-28
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.60 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
“Everything you wanted to know about breastfeeding . . . Filled with current research, it’s still an easy, fun read that makes breastfeeding seem absolutely doable.” —Lamaze International

About the Author
Jack Newman, M.D., the leading researcher in the field of breastfeeding, is a popular speaker at breastfeeding conferences across North America. A father of three, he lives in Toronto.

Teresa Pitman is the author or coauthor of nine other books on parenting. She is a mother of four and lives in Ontario.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
1: Why Breastfeeding Is Important

Myth: Infant formulas are pretty much the same as breastmilk, so it doesn’t make much difference which you choose.



Fact: The risks to feeding a baby with anything other than the milk nature designed for him are real, and are a concern even in societies where medical care and treatment for the problems caused by these formulas are readily available. In some parts of the world, the use of breastmilk substitutes means many babies will very probably not survive. While the vast majority of bottle-fed babies in North America will survive, that doesn’t mean the health problems and risks are not real and potentially serious for both the individuals affected and the larger society that must help to care for them.



Health care providers, childbirth educators, and others often talk about the “advantages” of breastfeeding. But to describe the differences between breastfeeding and artificial feeding this way includes the underlying assumption that artificial feeding is what is normal and acceptable, even though there may be some “fringe benefits” to breastfeeding.

The warning messages on packages of cigarettes don’t say, “Non-smokers may have lower rates of heart disease or lung cancer,” they say, “Smoking increases your risk of heart disease and lung cancer.” That’s because we know that breathing in smoke-filled air is not normal or good for the human lungs.

The different way we express this information is even clearer when we present statistics and percentages from research. If women who were breastfed as infants show (as they did in a recent study) a decrease of 25 percent in breast cancer rates when compared to women fed formula as infants, this can—more accurately—be restated this way: Women who were fed formula as infants had a 33.3 percent increase in breast cancer rates. Looks more significant, doesn’t it?

It is breastfeeding that is the normal way to feed a baby. Breastfeeding is what the baby’s body and developing systems are designed to expect, and there are many factors involved in breastfeeding that are not yet fully understood. The important diVerence between the two methods of infant feeding is that there are risks to artificial feeding.

One area of risk is in the manufacturer’s preparation of these breastmilk substitutes. As with any manufactured food item, there are sometimes mistakes in the composition of the food; contamination with bacteria and other material; and errors in the processing. There is a long history of formula recalls for various reasons—important ingredients left out, bacteria or other contaminants found in some cans, incorrect labeling and more.

While these can happen with any food product, infant formulas are diVerent because they are the only food the baby gets for several months. If an important ingredient is missing (as has happened in the past), the effect on the baby can be serious. Babies have suVered brain damage and permanent developmental delays because of chloride-deficient formulas; babies have become ill with diseases such as meningitis from contaminated formulas. A recent study of several brands of formulas found that some cans contained more than four times the amount of Vitamin D listed on the label—and Vitamin D in excess is toxic. Choosing to use these substitutes for breastmilk means relying on a manufacturer’s assembly line, which will inevitably produce some errors and problems, and parents simply have to hope that their baby isn’t unlucky enough to get that batch of formula, and that they notice when a particular lot number is recalled.

We often assume that if breastfeeding is not possible—a rare situation—formula is the second-best solution for feeding the baby. The World Health Organization (WHO), though, makes it very clear that infant formulas are not second best to breastfeeding. Second best would be the mother’s own milk, pumped or expressed, and fed to her baby (perhaps with a cup or tube). This is only second best because the value of breastfeeding includes such benefits as the development of the baby’s jaw and facial muscles as he nurses at the breast, and the transfer of germs back and forth between the mother and the baby, which helps protect the baby against infection and allergies, is more likely to occur when the mother and baby are together, touching, skin to skin and mouth to breast. Expressed milk won’t provide those important factors, but it is the next best thing to breastfeeding. If pumping or expressing is impossible, the third feeding suggestion on WHO’s list is donated milk from a breastmilk bank. Only if that is also unavailable would artificial baby-milk feedings be used—the fourth-best solution.

But even the most complete, best prepared formula of any brand has significant risks when compared to “the real thing”—breastmilk.

Let’s look at some of the areas that have been researched and consider the risks to babies fed artificially.

Intelligence and Cognitive Development

We know that the human baby’s brain is not yet fully developed at birth, and that it continues to grow and make important connections between the cells of the brain for about three years after birth. Once that process is completed, brain cells may die but no new ones can be added. Breastmilk, because it is designed for human babies, contains all the nutrients a baby’s brain needs to reach its maximum potential.

Breastmilk substitutes (formulas), however, don’t have all these components. In fact, we don’t really know what all of them are.

Researchers have known from early on that children who breastfed as infants scored, on average, higher on tests of intelligence and development, but researchers tended to attribute this to other factors. Perhaps mothers who chose to breastfeed were more motivated to do good things for their children, and this led to their being more involved in teaching their children as they grew up. Or perhaps the extra holding and skin-to-skin contact involved in breastfeeding was the reason these children were brighter, and mothers using breastmilk substitutes could achieve the same results by simply holding their babies more.

Holding babies more and teaching them more are both good things. But a 1992 study tried to eliminate these factors by looking at premature babies who were being fed through a tube. Some of these babies were given their mothers’ milk, and some were given breastmilk substitutes—and the results were significant. When they reached school age, the children who had received breastmilk scored higher on tests of intelligence. The milk itself makes a diVerence.

Other researchers have studied babies who were breastfed for varying lengths of time, and found that intelligence scores were higher (on average) for babies who were breastfed longer.

It may be that the increased skin-to-skin contact and holding is also a factor. While mothers who are giving their babies formula will usually hold them during feedings when the babies are very small, once the baby is old enough to hold his own bottle, he is often set down in an infant seat to feed himself. As he gets older still, he’s likely to be given his bottle while sitting in a high chair or while walking around. A breastfeeding mother, on the other hand, always sits or lies down with her baby, to hold him on her lap or cuddle him beside her. This contact is undoubtedly beneficial to both of them.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious disease that is becoming increasingly common. Type I is the type seen in children, and there is clearly a genetic component that makes some children vulnerable to this illness. While the evidence is not conclusive, studies have shown that when formula or cow’s milk is not introduced to the baby’s diet until he is older (some have recommended waiting at least one year), the baby is less likely to develop diabetes.

SIDS

SIDS stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome—situations in which a baby dies, usually while asleep. This is also known as crib death or cot death. No cause for this syndrome has been discovered, and there are probably several factors involved. (After many years of advising parents always to put the baby to bed lying on his stomach, for example, doctors are now recommending that babies sleep on their backs to reduce the incidence of SIDS.) Researchers have found that feeding a baby with formula does increase the risk of the baby dying from SIDS.

Respiratory Illnesses

If you’ve noticed the steadily increasing numbers of children with asthma, you’re not alone. There are multiple causes of this problem, too (one being the increasing amount of air pollution in our cities, and another, the larger numbers of children in day care situations, where they are exposed to more viruses at an earlier age).

Once again, though, feeding the baby with formula is a risk factor for developing asthma. Babies fed formula instead of breastmilk are also at a higher risk of other respiratory illnesses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). They also take longer to recover from these illnesses than do breastfed babies.

Ear Infections

Since ear infections are quite common in infants and young children, this area has been frequently researched, and formula-feeding has been repeatedly shown to be a risk factor in developing otitis media (ear infection). Ear infections are often very painful for the baby, and can lead to further complications—fluid can stay in the ear for a period of time after the infection has been treated, aVecting the baby’s hearing and speech development.

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Customer Reviews

Best Book EVER!!
Every new/expecting mom should read this book--it will make your mothering experience SO WONDERFUL!!!!

Best money I have EVER spent!!!!!

The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers
Breast feeding in not always an easy endeavor, and it's not always a matter of willingness. As a Women's Health Care Nurse Practitioner, and a mom who had a lot of difficulty breastfeeding, I have found this book to be invaluable. At times, preachy, but ultimately reassuring. It's sometimes really difficult to find sound, encouraging advice when you are having problems nursing. Women who's babies took to nursing with little problem (in my experience, many La Leche members), often don't understand the anxiety and frustration that a mom can feel when she and her baby are just not getting it. In many cases there's more to it then free access to the breast, nursing on demand, etc. It's also hard to find a Lactation Consultant in many communities, which leaves many women hung out to dry, quite literally. This book doesn't replace a good lactation consultant or knowledgeable breastfeeding advocate, but it is a good resource for moms. I use it almost daily as a patient resource. Often xeroxing sections to hand out. My patients usually find the information helpful and accessible.

Comprehensive breastfeeding information; very pointed views
This book offers some of the most comprehensive information about breastfeeding available. There is an excellent description of proper breastfeeding technique -- position, latching, cues such as swallowing sounds -- and how this avoids pain for the mother and ensures proper nutrition for the baby. This is truly invaluable for a new mother, and contains much information that seems not to be communicated clearly to women. This is an excellent chapter, and the reason I gave this book 4 stars.

However, the bulk of the book is actually devoted to problems experienced by the mother and the baby such as how to breastfeed premature babies, deal with health issues like jaundice, nursing strikes, and soreness and milk supply issues on the part of the mother.

There are a few issues that I found there to be too much of in this book. There is an entire chapter devoted to "exposing" the influence of formula marketing. I am sure that this is useful to some people, but as someone who never was interested in formula, I found this to be not particularly relevant to my needs in reading a book about breastfeeding. This may be useful to someone who isn't sure of breastfeeding's value, but, then again, the authors are so opposed to formula that reading these sections may induce strong reactions in some readers (hostility, anger, guilt, whatever) that may or may not make them more inclined to breastfeed. The authors pull no punches in this section.

I also felt the authors end up going too far in the direction of discussing the joys of breastfeeding, particularly in the chapter on extended breastfeeding (i.e., nursing a child over the age of 12 months, which in this book seems focussed on nursing the 3-to-5 year old) that they fail to realistically examine issues that such mothers might feel. There is no mention whatsoever of the fact that, while breastfeeding a young child, the mother may have one -- or even two! -- additional younger children, and the fact that she may become tired, overwhelmed, or otherwise not be eager to nurse so many children at one time (the reality that a family may include more than two young children is not dealt with); there is only a discussion of a sort of euphoria that some women experience while nursing and whether this is a perversion. Women who are nursing a five year old, a three year old, and an infant may feel that they have little time for themselves, and I think it is fair that we acknowledge that quite extended breastfeeding and of multiple children demands a lot of a mother, and this is not necessarily the same issue as whether a woman can exclusively breastfeed a single newborn effectively and happily.

The discussion of breastfeeding a healthy child is quite good, but, surprisingly, only comprises a single chapter. On the one hand, maybe the message was supposed to be that breastfeeding is so easy and natural that it doesn't take much to explain. But on the other hand, the bulk of the book is devoted to a variety of problems encountered by a new mother and her baby, so the book unfortunately communicates that breastfeeding is a process fraught with problems. Kathleen Huggins's "Nursing Mother's Companion" is a more comprehensive book, covering issues of the new mother's health in addition to all manner of nursing issues, in a positive, encouraging manner with lots of suggestions, organized by the age of the baby, oriented around encouraging breastfeeding (instead of listing the ills of formula). It is worth examining instead of or in addition to Newman's book.