Written By Martha Sears and William Sears
Book Review By Jenny Wee

The authors, Dr William Sears and his wife (an IBCLC) are parents to eight breastfed children and had written over 30 parenting books.

I first read this book when my son was one month old. It really helps me overcome lots of breastfeeding issues like latching issues, yeast infection of the breast and plugged ducts. Even though my son is now 13 months old, I am still referring to this book when I encounter any breastfeeding issues.

A section is covered on how to get started with breastfeeding which contains the entire guide on latching and positioning tips with good illustrations. The technique "lip-flip tip" invented by Dr Sears which helps babies with the habit of tight mouthing the nipples really helps me get the correct latch when breastfeeding my premature son in the early days.

Dr Sears uses a table to illustrate the differences between breast milk and formula in terms of nutritional values. I feel that knowing the innumerable benefits that breastfeeding builds healthier brains, healthier bodies and families really gave me the determination to overcome all obstacles and master the womanly art of breastfeeding.

As Dr. William Sears is the chief proponent of "attachment parenting", an approach to child rearing that emphasizes physical and emotional closeness between parent and child, a chapter on night time breastfeeding explains the benefits of night time nursing and offers a lot of troubleshooting tips that parents might face.

Another interesting point about this book is that all the other breastfeeding books I read were all written by women. Dr. William Sears adds his input from a man's perspective in a chapter that I think all mommies must show to daddies.

However some parents might not like the idea of attachment parenting philosophy like cue feeding, baby wearing and night time nursing in this book. The rigid outlook of Dr Sears' view on breastfeeding especially on the use of a bottle might put some parents off.

I would highly recommended this book to a expectant mom or a new mom as it covers all the aspects of breastfeeding and most importantly it's written in simple layman's term and covers the basics concepts needed for a good start like the right latch, positions, frequent feedings to the common challenges that would be faced by a working breastfeeding mom or even father!