I think the Woman Art is a GREAT book, and always have.  I read it when I
was pregnant with each of my children, and I just sent my copy of the latest
edition off to the Azores, without having read it (but that's OK, I'm not
pregnant!).

I think it is certainly true that women need different things at different
stages -- philosophy to encourage them to breastfeed and to talk about how
wonderful it is, technique for those who have no friends or relatives to
show them, etc.  But the Womanly Art was not meant to be used alone -- it
was meant to be used in addition to League meetings!  It's at the meetings,
which one would ideally go to during pregnancy, that one gets to meet other
breastfeeding mothers, see how it works, see the variation, see the
differences between newborn nursing and toddler nursing, etc.  I don't think
any book, no matter how great the descriptions and pictures and drawings,
can really teach someone "how to" breastfeed as well as having other people
to watch and provide help.

If I meet someone who is still pregnant and ambivalent about breastfeeding,
I recommend either or both of Pam Wiggins' little books, "Why Should I Nurse
My Baby?" and "Breastfeeding: A Mother's Gift."  The Womanly Art *is* too
long for women who don't read much.

Kathy Dettwyler