Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding by Ina May Gaskin

Mrs. Gaskin does it again. This book is fabulous. In classic Ina May style, this book provides a wealth of information. What I particularly enjoyed from this book was the diversity of information presented. Sometimes breastfeeding books can be quite dry reading, but I didn’t find that with this book. Mrs. Gaskin addresses topics not covered in other breastfeeding books. She never ceases to educate, humor, and delight.

The greatest importance of this book is the attitude conveyed of how natural breastfeeding is. It is easy in our culture to become removed from nature and things that are natural. Mrs. Gaskin recognizes this when she points out that an increasing amount of residents in our society don’t even realize what the primary purpose of breasts is. Our society often views breasts as entirely sexual, when in fact, their primary purpose is to nourish our young. Evidence is given that other cultures do not hold the same views as we do. Mrs. Gaskin points out that in some cultures, women must remain covered because their entire body is considered sexual, however, their breasts are not. This was refreshing to learn about.

Another topic I enjoyed is what Mrs. Gaskin labels as “nipplephobia.” She believes our society suffers from nipplephobia because we do not see enough breasts, especially being used during their first and foremost function of breastfeeding. While written with slight humor at times, this chapter addresses a very real and important issue in our society. The solution? According to Ina May, visual stimulus overload!

I also enjoyed reading Mrs. Gaskin’s personal stories and experiences used to illustrate her points. I have a hunch you’ll find Mrs. Gaskin’s life as fascinating as I do. She has a history of living her life against the grain in her own unique way and serves as a role model to future generations struggling in our fight against incorrect mainstream dogma.

I have to say my absolute favorite part of this book that I was overjoyed to see addressed was the idea of shared nursing. This is also commonly referred to as milksharing, which I am a huge advocate of. Shared nursing is a tiny bit different in which women who have close relationships feel comfortable feeding each other’s babies when they need arises. Milksharing often refers more to the informal donation of milk to women who may not produce enough milk for their babies such as in the events of adoption or prior breast surgeries. I often judge a breastfeeding book based upon whether they address this valid part of breastfeeding. I was happy to see this topic addressed in this book. Shared nursing is a classic example of how Mrs. Gaskin continually challenges our thinking in this society of what is considered acceptable. She is not afraid to speak out on her convictions even if they are not popular thought.

Another important chapter I enjoyed was How Birth Practices Affect Breastfeeding. This chapter contains a lot of useful and truthful information. It stands to reason Mrs. Gaskin would understand this topic better than most. What I specifically love about this chapter is that it gives information beyond simply breastfeeding (as much of this book does) and relates other issues back to breastfeeding. For example, this chapter covers topics such as pain medications, eating and drinking during labor, circumcision, delayed cord cutting, and rooming in amongst other topics. Presenting this information allows the reader to gain insight to these topics as well.

Other topics covered in this book include how breastfeeding works and how to prepare, the basics of getting started, your baby’s needs and yours, sleeping arrangements, problem solving during the first week, the first three months, working outside the home, nursing older babies, twins, and multiples, weaning, and much more. There is no shortage of information in this book. As it says on the back cover, this book may very well be “the only breastfeeding book you’ll need.”

The only aspect I would like to have seen addressed in greater detail in the book is found in the appendix. There is a decent amount of information regarding medications during breastfeeding. I didn’t find this part too thrilling as I am not much of an advocate of pharmaceuticals. What I am interested in, however, is herbs. After the section on medications, there is a list of herbs not to be used during lactation. No information is given as to why these particular herbs would not be a good choice. I would have loved to have read a good discussion on this topic, but perhaps, this is information for a different book.

No doubt this book will come to be treasured for many generations. Mrs. Gaskin’s gift to us is imparting her wisdom of breastfeeding in hopes someday all babies from America will have the benefit of suckling at their mother’s breasts and receive all the nutrition and nurturing from nature’s brilliant design.