Andy Steiner

Andy’s Essential Mamalinks page is full of important web-based resources for mothers of all experience levels. Go there for cool sites and online mothering communities.

If you’re a newbie who’s still struggling with getting breastfeeding established, don’t give up yet, girl! Here are a few real-life books that may help you out.

One caveat: There is a wealth of information out there about breastfeeding, tons of how-to books that can help a gal out in a rough spot. Your local library and/or bookstore should have a good collection. These are just a small sample of Andy’s favorites, and she’d welcome suggestions from visitors:

• The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers by Jack Newman, M.D. and Teresa Pittman

This Canadian physician is a true milk god, a kindly and committed wiseman full of sound advice on just about anything to do with nursing, from proper latch technique to combining breastmilk and solids, to the safety of medications during lactation. Many lactation consultants swear by Dr. Jack’s advice.

• Your Baby and Child by Penelope Leach

This wonderfully-illustrated (four-color photos of cute British babies!) parenting book provides clear-headed, gentle advice on early breastfeeding. Maybe it’s because she’s an level-headed English lass, but Leach’s even, non-judgmental approach to child-rearing is different from many popular Stateside guides.

• The Nursing Mother’s Companion by Kathleen Huggins, R.N., M.S.

While the photos and line-drawings of happy/hippie parents (dads with Grizzly Adams-style beards, moms with granny blouses and long, middle-parted hair) have turned off many a modern-day mama, the knowledgeable how-to-nurse advice in this book can help you through many a rough patch. There’s a reason why this book is in its fourth printing: It’s a classic guide that no nursing mother should be without.

• The Nursing Mother’s Problem Solver by Claire Martin

While this volume’s  reference-book format can feel a bit awkward (do I look up Plugged Ducts under P or D?), this guide adopts a light-hearted—at times even humorous—tone that so many other breastfeeding guides lack. A good addition to your booby bookshelf.

• Baby Love: A Tradition of Calm Parenting by Maud Bryt

This gentle, no-nonsense parenting guide makes caring for a newborn seem easy, which can be a good thing when all the other books out there seem determined to stress you out. The breastfeeding advice here is pretty basic, and there are no clear illustrations of latch technique like some of the other books have, but the advice still feels calm, clear-headed and helpful.

• The Hip Mama Survival Guide by Ariel Gore

Okay, okay, this book isn’t exactly a how-to breastfeed guide  in the traditional  sense of the word, but any book that advises “you can nurse, even after nipple piercing,” or publishes a list of “Music to Nurse Your Baby By” that includes John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, Sinead O’Connor’s Universal Mother and TLC’s CrazySexyCool is worth reading. Helps a gal remember that a breastfeeding mother can still be cool.