Answers to all those breastfeeding questions...

Whether a woman is expecting, planning for, or has given birth to a baby, the questions of whether or not to breastfeed, and how to do so, will come up. With so many changes taking place in a new mother’s life, frustrations with breastfeeding can become another speed bump on the road to bonding with her baby.

Nurse Barb’s Personal Guide to Breastfeeding is a highly-detailed guide to making certain both the breastfeeding mother and her baby are healthy and happy. With step-by-step instructions, Nurse Barb instructs the reader in every facet of breastfeeding, from getting ready to breastfeed to weaning her baby, and offers advice in difficult circumstances, including baby blues and postpartum depression.

This is an indispensable resource for mothers, whether they are experiencing their first pregnancy or are already a veteran mom. In a down-to-earth, friendly tone, Nurse Barb takes the guesswork out of breastfeeding and prepares mothers for the challenges and joys ahead.

For instance, new mothers struggle with the decision to breastfeed or bottle feed their new baby. Here's some guidance to help you choose what's right for you...

Breastfeeding Baby
Breast milk is the perfect food for baby, with numerous advantages over baby formula, especially in the first four months or so. Here's why:

-It's always available.
-It's free.
-It contains active infection-fighting white blood cells and natural chemicals that give increased protection against infections in the first months, when these can be the most serious.
-It can help prevent SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
-It contains the perfect proportion of nutrients that your baby needs, including protein, carbohydrates, fat, and calcium.

-It is easily digestible.
-It may protect against allergies and asthma in the future.
-It may decrease a baby's risk of obesity in the future.
It may contain some fatty acids that promote brain development.
-Breastfeeding can help new mothers lose weight more easily.
=Additionally, there probably are other beneficial components of breast milk that we are not aware of and so are not added to formula.

Bottle Feeding Baby
With all these advantages of breast milk, should you feel guilty if you choose not to breastfeed? Absolutely not!

Infant formulas have gotten better and better at matching the ingredients and their proportions to that of human milk.

While breastfed babies may have relatively fewer infections, the vast majority of infants won't get a serious infection in the first months whether breast or bottle fed.

A happy, unstressed mother is the best mother. If you feel that bottle feeding best fits your needs, then it's the best for meeting your baby's needs as well.

To get more advice on both pregnancy and breastfeeding, check out Nurse Barb's personal guides at http://basichealthpub.com/collections/frontpage/products/nurse-barb-s-personal-guide-to-breastfeeding