New version of "Breastfeeding With Comfort and Joy"

A recent doula client and friend stopped by before I left for France to borrow some birth and breastfeeding books for the summer. She picked up Laura Keegan's Breastfeeding With Comfort and Joy and said, "I love this book! It was the most helpful breastfeeding book I read before I had my baby."

I reviewed Breastfeeding With Comfort and Joy back in 2009. I am excited to announced that Laura has released an revised e-book edition with updated information (particularly regarding skin-to-skin care and laid-back breastfeeding), more photos, and nine videos. Some e-book formats play the videos directly (Kindle Fire, Apple Books), while other e-book platforms will include a password-secured link to the videos.

The videos show babies of various ages taking the breast and feeding, some in upright positions and others laid-back. You'll also see 1-week-old twins taking the breast, a mother hand-expressing milk, and a mother doing breast compression to help her sleepy baby finish nursing. Another mom talks about nursing her baby right after the birth by putting her baby skin-to-skin and letting him scoot up to her breasts and latch on by himself. Finally, you'll see a UNICEF breast crawl video and watch a short documentary of a premature baby whose life was saved by skin-to-skin care after the birth.

Of particular importance are the new photos showing laid-back breastfeeding, with moms comfortably reclined and babies laying belly-down on top of their mothers. Laid-back breastfeeding enables babies' hardwired instincts to breastfeed, helps babies latch more deeply and effectively, and lets mothers nurse without having to actively "hold" their babies--a huge plus when you are nursing round-the-clock!

Laura wrote to me about this new version of Breastfeeding With Comfort and Joy:

When women see breastfeeding work, are confident to get comfortable, and fall in love with breastfeeding without the distractions and information overload, breastfeeding will become part of our culture.

I really want the new release pushed because it is an excellent resource for women to advocate for skin-to-skin at birth and other things. The information is not an update but a richer resource because of the shared experiences and practices that have come out since the first edition both in my practice and online. I now have more images to support the timeless concepts.

For the practice of women to have their babies at birth to reach a tipping point, women need an all-in-one-place resource when they demand this from their birth practitioners. Otherwise the scattered internet searches overwhelm them and the message is lost.

Please consider this book for yourself, for an expecting friend or family member, or for your medical/midwifery/lactation consulting practice.

The new electronic edition of Breastfeeding With Comfort and Joy is available from Amazon, Kobo, and iBookstore.