Review: What to Expect When You're Breastfeeding..

What to Expect When You're Breastfeeding... and What if you Can't? by Clare Byam-Cook

Clare Byam-Cook's classic breastfeeding book has been revised and updated to include the latest thinking, methods and figures on feeding. However, her basic down-to-earth wisdom remains the same as it ever was.
Byam-Cook has been a consultant to women trying to breastfeed for years. Although her belief that breastfeeding should never bring on cracked nipples or other problems and that these are simply down to positioning the baby correctly when feeding, she does not seek to bulldoze women into breastfeeding.
Unlike other lactation militants who refuse to believe that some women simply cannot breastfeed, she accepts this is the case for a few women. I love the phrase, "A person suffering from bad eyesight is given sympathy and would not be told that if she tried harder her eyes would work better."
Still, Byam-Cook does tackle every feeding-related issue in a concise and supportive way which should help overcome most difficulties and lead you to potentially the most positive and special experience you can enjoy in the first months with your new baby.

Organisation
Chapters are broken down into simple areas of need-to-know information and subheadings which help you go straight to the part of the book you need. (Byam-Cook recognises the fact that few women will have the time to read the book through from cover to cover, and that it's more likely to be a textbook that's reached for in times of strife.)
From preparing to breastfeed, to coming home from hospital, to common problems for mother and baby, and bottle equipment, the chapters cover everything you're likely to need to know about.

The ThinkBaby verdict

The best book you can buy for detailed breast-feeding support.

Usefulness:	5/5
Readability:	5/5
Value:	5/5