When Breastfeeding Is Not an Option: A Reassuring Guide for Loving Parents

by Peggy Robin

There are many reasons women bottlefeed their child. Some are health-related. Some are driven by other needs. Yet, the decision not to breastfeed is very difficult to make. Not only do mothers have to deal with their own emotions, but society has stigmatized those who bottlefeed. Now, in this practical book you will find the answers that will help you make the best choice for you and your child. Written by a mother of two, When Breastfeeding Is Not...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076151449X
• ISBN13: 9780761514497
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Prima Publishing
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Great Support Resource

This book has made a huge difference for me. I can't breastfeed due to an infectious disease which will spread to my baby via breastmilk. I just felt so terrible about not being able to breastfeed because I actually believed the propaganda that breastfeeding prevents all sorts of other disorders. I felt I was giving my baby a bad start. Reading this book made me realize that although breastmilk is best when possible, as I've always felt, formula is not the devil's toxic brew that some radical activists make it out to be. The author clearly states that she is not a health professional. She clearly states that she is just a woman who found herself unable to breastfeed and totally alone and without support as a result. I found this to be true as well. This book is the counterbalance that women need in this society where the mantra "breast is best" is drilled into our heads and the science is skewed to such a disgusting degree to make non-breastfeeding women feel guilty. I know women with the same disease as I have who have breastfed because they were so controlled by the media and propanganda surrounding breastfeeding. They felt that breastmilk was the golden elixer and that their child would suffer without it. Now they have very ill children because they caught the disease from their breastmilk. Nice job! Women need truth and education and free choice... not guilt-tripping and blown up BS research. The radicals have made a big mess and hurt many children in their quest to help them and they don't even see it. My mother was La Leche League in the 70s and I and my four siblings were all breastfed. I know breastfeeding is the better option if your milk is safe and your baby is able to get enough milk from you, etc. I highly recommend this book to anyone who can't breastfeed or can't manage to breastfeed due to something in their life.

Not a debate

These reviews are not supposed to be a debate on feeding methods, but rather to honestly review the book. It is painfully obvious that many of the so-called reviews of this book were from people who did not even read it, but are just chanting the breastfeeding mantra. And it is precisely these reviews that prove Ms. Robin's point: bottle feeding is looked on as child abuse by some. I read the book, and found it to be well-written. The target audience, those who could not or would not breast feed, will be happy to see that they are not imagining the negative attitudes thrown at them. This book does deliver the reassurances to bottle feeding mothers that the title promises. If you are looking for a breast feeding guide, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a kindred spirit; a loving, bottle feeding mother, then you will enjoy the book.

Finally, some HONESTY on the subject!

It seems pretty obvious to me that many of the reviews here are simply written out of the the over-zealousness and defensiveness that Ms. Robin addresses in her book. Nothing in her book is hateful -- but I find many of these reviews to be!This is one of the best things I've ever read. It's all the stuff that I've been thinking after my disappointing experiences with breastfeeding but was afraid to say -- it's not just me. I read tons of LLL stuff before my last baby was born and it still didn't help us to acheive success. I wish things had worked out, but now I know that it is OK and that he will be just as healthy and happy as can be. I encourage any new mom to breastfeed (and it seems, from actually reading the whole book, that Ms. Robin does too), but I think this is a great book for moms who can't for whatever reason.

Loved it, recommend it to all new (and expecting) mommies!

So many women want to breast feed and cannot, many more than the cultists claim. In fact one study puts the number as high as 40% with significant problems--some can be overcome, some cannot. Now we have a book that lets us know how to bottle feed. And reaffirms that we are still great mommies.

Refreshingly honest review of a difficult subject

Ms. Robin has had the extraordinary courage to go against the tide of feminist propaganda about breastfeeding. Her book is an honest and insightful look into the problems that many women face when trying to breast feed. It should be of enormous benefit to women who have up till now had no resource to help them should they decide not to breast feed. This book will also help allay the guilt feelings that many women have over not wanting to breast feed or not being able to breast feed.