What are some good breastfeeding books for a first-time mom?

I’m sure major baby product companies as Gerber / Johnson & Johnson make such books.

Contact La Leche Leauge. They will have an entire library of suggestions.

I second La Leche League – and specifically their breastfeeding bible The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

The Nursing Mother’s Companion by Kathleen Huggins. It is the best breastfeeding book I have come across – by far. I used it constantly all three times I nursed.

@SuperMouse, that is a great book! Also, tell her not to shy away from the lactation consultant, at the hospital – they are saints! :)

@SuperMouse I will give her the name of that book, and also The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. Thanks!

The only breastfeeding book I ever had was “So That’s What They’re For!” and while it was stuffed with great information and advice, I felt it was really heavy on potential pain and suffering. My friend is already a worry-wart, and I think that book might intimidate her a bit.

We did talk about lactation consultants, but I didn’t think to mention LLL. We covered everything from co-sleeping to daycare during our two hour talk last night, and she’s still got five months to go before the baby arrives. I’m so glad my friends are starting to have babies so I can share my ten years plus of experience and misery, haha!

Our Babies Ourselves is an awesome book for first time parents that will help her calm down / process all the information she is getting so she has energy left over for whatever breastfeeding issues she may encounter…at which point read the La Leche League’s website / go to their meetings. Dr. Sears has a pretty good website w/ an FAQ section for first time breastfeeders. S/he (married couple) write a book called “The Breastfeeding Book” which has comprehensible descriptions I appreciated.

The best book I have found was “Nursing Your Baby” by Karen Pryor.
I breastfed all four of my children and now my daughter has breastfed her two.
She used my old copy of the book and compared it to all the newer books, she thought it was the best. She now has the newest edition of this book and still claims it is the best.

The Womanly Art of Breast-Feeding gets my vote too. Informative and supportive.
I joined a La Leche League support group and couldn’t speak more highly of its value to me

What do you need a book for??

@Val123 I found books very helpful, since none of my friends or relatives had breastfed. My mother, mother-in-law, and various aunts, had all used formula. None of my friends had children yet. The lactation consultants, nurses, and doctors I knew were also helpful, but having a good book as a reference often saved me the trouble of calling “the experts.” Most of the women in my family were of the “solve the problem with a bottle of formula” type, and not what I wanted. I liked being able to read other ideas to help with any breastfeeding issues.

My friend lives far from her family and friends, and this is her first baby. She’s a worry wart. Since it’s been a while since I breastfed, I thought maybe someone would suggest books that I wouldn’t think of. There were great suggestions, and I’ve passed them on. :)

Exactly @MissAusten like you, I had no one that I knew who had successfully breastfed.
When you don’t grow up seeing it done, it doesn’t always come all that naturally. When problems or questions arise in the middle of the night, it’s nice to have a reliable book for reference.

I breastfeed, although no one I knew did…..the only thing I needed to “learn” was how to make it so the baby could latch one (they can have a hard time doing that when they’re newborn, and your boob is five times bigger than the whole baby!)....but that’s all, really.
It was the bestest experience. Some would say I kept them on the breast too long—well after they were eating solid foods! But it wasn’t solely about food. It was a very special and unique bonding time. (Once I told my sister I was thinking about weaning my first born, and she said, “Oh Mom! And I gotta get a job too??” LOL! It wasn’t quite THAT bad!!)

@cak I totally agree that lactation consultants are amazing! The lactation consultant came to my hospital room and I asked her to come back a couple times. She was a life saver. For my third child, I even called the hospital to talk to the lactation consultant. I learned so much.