It’s no secret that I’ve really struggled with breastfeeding Heidi, so much so, I’ve actually now decided to combination feed her. She’s now fed exclusively by breast at night and again in-between those magic 3-4 bottles a day. I don’t feel disappointed, I feel massively relieved. This wasn’t a decision borne out of pain, discomfort or exhaustion (although I won’t pretend I wasn’t experiencing all three of these), I was just incredibly low and I felt it was affecting my ability to bond with Heidi.

You might therefore find it strange that I’m sharing a positive review of a book on how to breastfeed even though I’ve failed in my own attempt to exclusively breastfeed my daughter, but Gonzalez’s Breastfeeding Made Easy really is a good read. And it seems I’m not the only one who thinks so. Barcelonian paediatrician González has already proven himself to be an adept and popular author on parenting with previous books Kiss Me! How to Raise your Children with Love, and My Child Won’t Eat going down a storm and getting rave reviews.

His latest book aims to arm women with the confidence to tackle breastfeeding head-on. Major themes include:

• How breastfeeding works, and why most mothers, with support, can do it if they want to
• How myths and misinformation can derail mothers, and how to avoid this
• How to manage introducing solid foods, weaning from the breast, and going back to work
• The proven heath benefits of breastfeeding, for babies and their mothers
• How treating illness, in mother and baby, needn’t mean the end of breastfeeding
• How breastfeeding can succeed even in difficult circumstances
• The importance of good breastfeeding support, and how to access it.

What I really like about this book is González’s tone. It’s great to finally discover a book on breastfeeding that combines medical wisdom with a father’s perspective. Even in his introduction he writes of his own feelings of ‘pride, admiration, astonishment, fascination, and envy’ at seeing his children nursed by their mother. It’s refreshingly honest whilst being infinitely helpful.

The book begins as means to go on - by dispelling a number of myths relating to breastfeeding - that women only produce a fixed amount of milk, that some women produce more milk than others, that the breast needs time in-between feeds to refill - then proceeds to address a number of real-life questions mothers have about breastfeeding. It’s not perfunctory, or patronising, González’s style is warm and conversational so you find things sinking in. A number of times now I’ve turned to Craig whilst reading in bed and said “Did you know…?”, or “Listen to this…” - and perhaps surprisingly he is genuinely interested! It seems that González is right to suggest that most men are really curious about breastfeeding.

I particularly liked his section on the effects of oxytocin which explained how lack of confidence and anxiety can effect lactation. Rather than leave this ‘hanging there’ for mothers to dwell on, he then sets about explaining how to overcome this. It’s a powerful sentiment that is echoed throughout the entirety of the book.

There’s also a really useful section on breastfeeding on demand. When I was in hospital recovering from my c section with Heidi, there was a really anxious new mummy in the bed beside me. On one occasion she called for a midwife in the night in floods of tears as her baby wouldn’t wake up to feed. It seems she’d been misinformed (like countless others) that babies need to be fed every 4 hours. I felt so sorry for her and remember glancing down at Heidi beside who was well into her 5th hour of uninterrupted sleep. I had been in exactly her position in the early days with Dexter. González spells this out perfectly;

“Should I wake her up to nurse her?” “What is the longest time she can go without feeding?” In theory, as long as she likes. There is no reason to wake up a healthy baby who is gaining weight normally. She will feed when she is hungry. Her sugar levels won’t plummet because she goes a few hours without milk

There are a few minor things that would have improved the book for me. The section on positioning contains a few illustrations that would have benefited from being bigger and better explained. I know from experience that this is something that many mums struggle with. I’d have also really liked for him to have explained how mothers with different breast shapes and sizes might find X, Y or Z more comfortable. This would have been a godsend for me given I was stuck in the ‘rugby ball’ position for so long with Heidi-bum.

The other slightly frustrating thing for me was the index which isn’t ideal for quick navigation. I’d definitely describe this book as less of a reference book than a good old-fashioned read. What I mean by this is that it’s not one you can dip in and out of and is best read in those first few crucial days of parenthood, or even before.

For more information about the book, and its author, your can visit Pinter and Martin Publishers (where you can also handily get £3 off at the checkout using code BME3 at the checkout - bringing it in at £8.99). I’d definitely recommend it as both a great resource for new parents and a good refresher for those mums about to give birth again - it’s amazing just how much we forget!

Giveaway time!

If you’d like to win Breastfeeding Made Easy for yourself, a partner, a friend or maybe even your local La Leche class - Pinter & Martin have kindly given me a book to giveaway. Entry is via rafflecopter so best of luck to you
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