At New Beginnings, we are all excited to get our hands on and begin reading the newest edition of The Art of Breastfeeding (9th Edition), formerly known as The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. Recently, I attended the La Leche League International Online Conference and want to share some of what I learned about the revised and updated edition of the LLLI core book from a session discussing the new book with its four writers.
The new edition is available now. You can order your copy here.
A team of writers was chosen by LLLI and began working on the ninth edition in 2022. With four gifted writers from four different countries, the team worked across significant time differences! They poured lots of love into this book and hope it shines through to the readers.
There are so many places on the internet to go for resources about breastfeeding and human milk feeding, some helpful and some less helpful. However, The Art of Breastfeeding can be gifted to a new parent with the confidence that the information is accurate and based on the most current resources.
What Stays the Same with this Edition?
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding has been a beloved LLLI publication and trusted resource for decades. The writers recognized which aspects of the book worked well and aimed to keep the same warm tone readers expect from an LLL book. While it is packed with evidence-based resources, The Art of Breastfeeding is not meant to be a textbook, but rather a warm and friendly La Leche League Meeting in a book. Readers are encouraged as always to take what works for them and leave the rest behind, just like at a meeting.
The structure of the book also remains the same, where readers can flip through to certain topics or read chronologically through all the ages and stages. The book addresses the emotional parts of feeding while also covering the technical aspects.
What’s New with the New Edition?
The lactation landscape has changed a lot since the eighth edition was released in 2010. Technology has brought us apps to track diaper output and nursing times, and there’s been a surge in social media from 2010 to now. The new edition addresses these issues and what it means for today’s parents. Also, the level of virtual breastfeeding support that LLL can offer is highlighted throughout the book.
The language level is more accessible for anyone who speaks English: simplified language, bullet points, and clips of stories from families all over the world make this book easier to read.
As people realize the importance of human milk, we are seeing that more parents want to try breastfeeding, even if families experience challenges. Hence, this new edition covers a wider range of nursing experiences to support families who are partially breastfeeding or exclusively pumping, for example. The importance of human milk is getting through to families, even with combination feeding.
Of course, all of the publication’s topics have been updated, and some new ones were added. Some of the noteworthy additions include the importance of breastfeeding on the infant’s gut microbiome, the problems with ultra-processed foods on long term health, and updated mastitis treatment protocols. The writers also saw a need to cover in more depth how nursing relates to postpartum mood disorders, dysphoric milk ejection reflex (D-MER), and the ways medications and substances can interact with breastfeeding. This edition also includes more information on breastfeeding through illness, breastfeeding and neurodiversity, and breastfeeding and disabilities.
A Global Resource
The Art of Breastfeeding was written with the objective of having a wider reach; it is not just a North American book. Various backgrounds are considered, and the stories come from all over the globe. This book works to highlight the connections between all nursing parents. It aims to be inclusive of all family types, races, backgrounds, abilities. Whether you work, stay at home, exclusively pump, have an infant with complex medical needs, or use donor milk, the writers hope you’ll see yourself in this book and the stories sent in from parents.
Even More Stories from Families
People from all over the world shared their experiences with the writers. Over 200 stories in eight languages were submitted and translated. In past editions, parent anecdotes tended to focus on happy endings. Now, the stories also touch on the grief parents can sometimes feel around breastfeeding and parenting. One of the writers, Teresa Pitman, said during the conference session that “breastfeeding is not a pass-fail situation – it plays itself out in many ways”. Breastfeeding support from LLL carries itself beyond weaning and beyond happily ever after stories, too.
More Resources Related to the Book
A new “Want to Know More” page containing lots of additional stories and resources for each chapter of the book has been added to the La Leche League International website. So much information that was collected couldn’t fit into this book, so the book team wanted to provide a place for readers eager to learn more on a particular topic. Also, there will be multiple translations of the book over the next few years.
Overall, the tone of acceptance and kindness, along with the highlighted importance of breastfeeding is what makes this book so special. Anna Swisher shared that as writers, “we recognized that the world has changed, but parents’ love for their babies hasn’t.”
The New Beginnings blog team hopes to feature more reviews of The Art of Breastfeeding in the future from anyone who has read it and would like to share their thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to Kylie at [email protected] to provide your feedback about the book.
Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always
Please consider donating to La Leche League USA.
Your gift helps support this blog and the website!
Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. Thank you!
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Posted: October 29, 2024 by Yael Breimer
The Art of Breastfeeding (9th Edition) Available Now!
At New Beginnings, we are all excited to get our hands on and begin reading the newest edition of The Art of Breastfeeding (9th Edition), formerly known as The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. Recently, I attended the La Leche League International Online Conference and want to share some of what I learned about the revised and updated edition of the LLLI core book from a session discussing the new book with its four writers.
The new edition is available now. You can order your copy here.
There are so many places on the internet to go for resources about breastfeeding and human milk feeding, some helpful and some less helpful. However, The Art of Breastfeeding can be gifted to a new parent with the confidence that the information is accurate and based on the most current resources.
What Stays the Same with this Edition?
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding has been a beloved LLLI publication and trusted resource for decades. The writers recognized which aspects of the book worked well and aimed to keep the same warm tone readers expect from an LLL book. While it is packed with evidence-based resources, The Art of Breastfeeding is not meant to be a textbook, but rather a warm and friendly La Leche League Meeting in a book. Readers are encouraged as always to take what works for them and leave the rest behind, just like at a meeting.
The structure of the book also remains the same, where readers can flip through to certain topics or read chronologically through all the ages and stages. The book addresses the emotional parts of feeding while also covering the technical aspects.
What’s New with the New Edition?
The lactation landscape has changed a lot since the eighth edition was released in 2010. Technology has brought us apps to track diaper output and nursing times, and there’s been a surge in social media from 2010 to now. The new edition addresses these issues and what it means for today’s parents. Also, the level of virtual breastfeeding support that LLL can offer is highlighted throughout the book.
The language level is more accessible for anyone who speaks English: simplified language, bullet points, and clips of stories from families all over the world make this book easier to read.
As people realize the importance of human milk, we are seeing that more parents want to try breastfeeding, even if families experience challenges. Hence, this new edition covers a wider range of nursing experiences to support families who are partially breastfeeding or exclusively pumping, for example. The importance of human milk is getting through to families, even with combination feeding.
Of course, all of the publication’s topics have been updated, and some new ones were added. Some of the noteworthy additions include the importance of breastfeeding on the infant’s gut microbiome, the problems with ultra-processed foods on long term health, and updated mastitis treatment protocols. The writers also saw a need to cover in more depth how nursing relates to postpartum mood disorders, dysphoric milk ejection reflex (D-MER), and the ways medications and substances can interact with breastfeeding. This edition also includes more information on breastfeeding through illness, breastfeeding and neurodiversity, and breastfeeding and disabilities.
A Global Resource
The Art of Breastfeeding was written with the objective of having a wider reach; it is not just a North American book. Various backgrounds are considered, and the stories come from all over the globe. This book works to highlight the connections between all nursing parents. It aims to be inclusive of all family types, races, backgrounds, abilities. Whether you work, stay at home, exclusively pump, have an infant with complex medical needs, or use donor milk, the writers hope you’ll see yourself in this book and the stories sent in from parents.
Even More Stories from Families
People from all over the world shared their experiences with the writers. Over 200 stories in eight languages were submitted and translated. In past editions, parent anecdotes tended to focus on happy endings. Now, the stories also touch on the grief parents can sometimes feel around breastfeeding and parenting. One of the writers, Teresa Pitman, said during the conference session that “breastfeeding is not a pass-fail situation – it plays itself out in many ways”. Breastfeeding support from LLL carries itself beyond weaning and beyond happily ever after stories, too.
More Resources Related to the Book
A new “Want to Know More” page containing lots of additional stories and resources for each chapter of the book has been added to the La Leche League International website. So much information that was collected couldn’t fit into this book, so the book team wanted to provide a place for readers eager to learn more on a particular topic. Also, there will be multiple translations of the book over the next few years.
Overall, the tone of acceptance and kindness, along with the highlighted importance of breastfeeding is what makes this book so special. Anna Swisher shared that as writers, “we recognized that the world has changed, but parents’ love for their babies hasn’t.”
The New Beginnings blog team hopes to feature more reviews of The Art of Breastfeeding in the future from anyone who has read it and would like to share their thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to Kylie at [email protected] to provide your feedback about the book.
Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always
Please consider donating to La Leche League USA.
Your gift helps support this blog and the website!
Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. Thank you!
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