Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding

"Ina May Gaskin is an international treasure. Her new guide to breastfeeding is the best thing ever written on the subject. A must-have for all pregnant women interested in the best start for their babies." —Christiane Northrup, M.D., Author of Women' s Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause

"This book is all we've come to expect of Ina May Gaskin—warm, wise, solidly based in real experiences, and sensitive to the needs and lives of women in all their complexity. It's the only breastfeeding book you'll need."—Barbara Katz Rothman and Wendy Simonds, authors of Laboring On

"Simply put, midwife Ina May Gaskin is the most important person in maternity care in North America, bar none."—Marsden Wagner, M.D., M.S., former Director of Women' s and Children's Health, World Health Organization 

"Breastfeeding is one of life' s greatest joys. And there is no better guide to have at your side than the legendary Ina May!"—Harvey Karp, M.D., author of The Happiest Baby on the Block and creator of the DVD

"Ina May Gaskin's words of wisdom are a gift to all women. Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding is the perfect informative companion to Spiritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. All of them hold a treasured place in my library and should, no doubt, be part of yours."—Ricki Lake, coauthor of Your Best Birth and cocreator of the documentary The Business of Being Born

"Eons of accumulated feminine wisdom, having been muddled and dispersed by modern medical practice, have become sadly unavailable to today's woman. In this and each of her books, Ms. Gaskin, one of the world's foremost scholars of such wisdom, puts it concisely and lovingly back into our hands. Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding is the perfect gift for any pregnant woman. It is like having the best childbirth and lactation consultant right there at your bedside. And for non-pregnant women and men alike, may it be viewed as the seminal feminist text that it is, and may the re-empowerment of women with respect to childbirth be seen as central to the work of feminism, and indeed the cause of humanity, in the 21st century." —Ani DiFranco
 
 

Ina May Gaskin, certified professional midwife, has been a midwife for more than thirty years at The Farm Midwifery Center at The Farm, in Summertown, Tennessee.

Ina May Gaskin has done it again. Full of information and insight, this page-turner of a book is a must-read. What a great baby shower gift! The book covers everything from the basics of breastfeeding to sleeping arrangements, to nursing twins, to what to do when babies get sick, to weaning, to eradicating nipplephobia and creating a breastfeeding culture. The appendices and resources at the end are also extremely helpful.

I am a labor, delivery and postpartum RN and mother of a 10 month old. I loved this book. It was factually accurate and provided information I have not found in other breastfeeding resources. In particular, I appreciated her realistic view of women returning to work and continuing to breastfeed. She had excellent information about the use of a breastpump and what to expect while using one. I also liked her more "moderate" view on breastfeeding unlike the the La Leche League's book. It was nice to hear a more moderate voice in the world of breastfeeding.

This book was also quite educational and discussed some rather fascinating accounts of lactation, such as women who were able to lactate post-menopausal and prior to pregnancy. I found this quite interesting and of value to discuss in a culture that seems to have the belief that lactation is difficult or unimportant.

The only section I was somewhat ambivalent about was her discussion about "nipple phobia." While I do agree that our culture is "phobic" of seeing a woman's nipples, I'm not sure that the label adds value to the destruction of this state in our culture. Other than that, this book was the best breastfeeding resource I have ever read.