Cathy wrote that she found an old edition of "The Womanly Art of
Breastfeeding" to be utterly
devastating to her, and that she still doesn't like the newest edition. It's
unfortunate the book had that kind of effect on her, but given the
circumstances almost any book on breastfeeding might have caused pain. The
edition 20 years ago had little position and latch information (not much was
known about that back then) and few pictures. The new one is better in this
way, but still doesn't have enough diagrams or pictures, IMO.

The WAB definitely isn't for everyone, but I still like it a lot. I tell
mothers it's like having a big sister there to lead you through all kinds of
puzzling new mother stuff. It's more conversational than "nuts and bolts"
but there's a lot of good common sense mothering information in there that
isn't always in other books. It covers a lot of areas like weaning,
discipline, fathers, employment, etc. One of the problems is the high
literacy level of the book, which makes it inappropriate for some women.

I recommend books to mothers based on what I think they might like. I really
like "Bestfeeding: Getting Breastfeeding Right for You" because of the great
photos and diagrams and the fairly easy reading level. I like The Baby Book
by Sears and Sears because it's so practical, covers so much information and
assumes the baby is breastfed. I have a fairly extensive lending library so
mothers can borrow books, decide which they like, and then purchase the one
that meets their needs best (I don't sell them, but refer them to the local
LLL Group).

Leslie Ayre-Jaschke, BEd, IBCLC
Peace River, Alberta, Canada
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-----Original Message-----
From: Cathy Bargar <[log in to unmask]>
Date: January 10, 1999 7:17 PM
Subject: The Womanly Art...


>Sorry, I seem to be hogging the airways tonight - am "behind" in reading my
>mail, and feeling responsive.
>
>I've noticed a couple of references to "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding"
>lately. I have to say that I personally found that book to be utterly
>devastating to me, when I was a new first-time mother (lo, these 21+ years
>ago now!). I remember trying *desperately* to breastfeed my baby, after a
>very prolonged and miserable labor and a C/S delivery, consulting that book
>repeatedly, and just weeping and weeping every time I did. I had read it
>several times before I delivered (there weren't that many options in those
>days), figured I had a pretty good understanding of what to do, but then
the
>reality I encountered was so far from what the book described that I drew
>the only logical conclusion a new mother could draw - it was  ALL MY FAULT
>that the baby didn't nurse "right", that I was DOING IT ALL WRONG (which I
>could tell because we in no way resembled the picture of mother-baby bliss
>that were described in the book), and that I was as a result A TERRIBLE
>MOTHER.
>
>Older and wiser now, and it turned out that I was in fact a really great
>mother (though BFing my first baby never was anything like they described
in
>that book), but I still don't like that book. It's tone is kind of cloying,
>or cutesy, and it doesn't match the reality of a lot of the women I've
>worked with. I'm glad there are some other choices now. (Including some by
>subscribers to this list, but I wouldn't want to be jumped on for
>"advertising". Are there others who share my feeling about "The Womanly
>Art...?", or am I just  a grouch? What books do you recommend to new moms?
>(Are we allowed to ask that?? Somebody clue me in, if not.)
>
>Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY
>