The 12 Best Breastfeeding Books of 2024

Breastfeeding books may not be something you have written on your baby essentials shopping list but they deserve a space on that list just as much as diapers and a crib.

Breastfeeding is the most natural way to feed your baby but just like with childbirth, just because it is natural doesn’t mean it is easy.

Nursing a baby may look as simple as just placing your newborn onto your chest and watching them peacefully drink with a perfect latch but for many new moms, that picture-perfect scene is far from their reality.

Breastfeeding can be painful, getting the perfect latch is a fine art and sometimes Mother Nature likes to add problems like tongue-tie, breast engorgement, and acid reflux to the mix, just to make the whole feeding process even more challenging.

By reading breastfeeding books and guides during your pregnancy you can arm yourself with all the knowledge you need and when the time comes to nurse your baby you will have a greater understanding of what to do.

Short On Time? Here Are Our Top 3 Choices

	Title	Price	Prime	Buy
Top	The Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
	Lactivate!: A User's Guide to Breastfeeding		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
	The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding: Completely Revised and Updated 8th Edition-Paperback		PrimeEligible	Buy Now

Top 12 Breastfeeding Books Of 2024 

Just like strollers and highchairs, there are a lot of breastfeeding books available to buy and you don’t want to waste your money. Especially on something that is supposed to make your life easier but leaves you feeling more confused than you were before.

We have put together a list of the 12 best breastfeeding books of 2024 to help you get off to the best possible start on your breastfeeding journey. 

1. The Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Baby From Birth Through Weaning 

The Breastfeeding Book is written by pediatric experts Martha Sears R N and William Sears M D. This book is a comprehensive breastfeeding guide and covers everything from the newborn latch and upping your milk supply, right through to weaning.

For pumping moms, The Breastfeeding Book also provides information about pumping when working away from home and details of the different types of breast pumps.

This updated version of Dr. Sears Guide To Breastfeeding provides readers with the most up-to-date information on the importance of Omega-3 fatty acids and milk-orientated microbiota.

The Breastfeeding Book includes illustrations alongside a wealth of information about everything you could possibly need to know about breastfeeding.

2. Lactivate!: A User’s Guide To Breastfeeding

Looking for a breastfeeding book that can answer all of your breastfeeding questions? Lactivate!: A user’s guide to breastfeeding includes a FAQ section providing you with all the answers to common breastfeeding queries.

What food should I avoid? When will my milk come in? and many more of your questions are answered in this short yet informative 194-page breastfeeding guide.

There are also helpful illustrations to really demonstrate the latch techniques and positions discussed in the book.

Lactivate! provides new parents with a close look at the first 90 days of breastfeeding and has all the information you need to make it through the first three months of nursing with all the knowledge you need to overcome any of the common feeding problems thrown your way.

3. The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding 

The 8th edition of The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding is an updated version of the bestselling guide from La Leche League.

At over 500 pages long, this extensive breastfeeding guide covers everything from preparing for breastfeeding during your pregnancy, nursing positions, and pumping and storing breastmilk.

This guide has been updated to keep up with modern motherhood and covers nursing and going back to work, pumping while away from home, and nursing as a single mom or a mom of multiples.

The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding includes breastfeeding stories from real moms, illustrations, photographs, and information guides to help you learn everything there possibly is to learn about breastfeeding.

La Leche League has been there to support nursing moms for decades and all of their expert knowledge has been poured into the pages of The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding. 

4. The Positive Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need To Feed Your Baby With Confidence 

The Positive Breastfeeding Book is a breastfeeding guide that will help you understand how breastfeeding works, help you cope with those early months, support you to make sure that whilst you’re looking after the baby, you’re getting taken care of too.

This breastfeeding book offers reassuring advice alongside straight-talking, science-based information. There are real-life breastfeeding stories from nursing moms and a wealth of expert knowledge too.

The Positive Breastfeeding Book promises to empower you with all the knowledge and encouragement you need to feed your baby with confidence.

5. Work. Pump. Repeat: The New Moms Survival Guide to Breastfeeding and Going Back to Work

This witty yet informative guide to pumping as a working mom by Jessica Shortell offers new moms all the information they need to navigate breast pumps, meetings, and pumping in the workplace.

Work. Pump. Repeat. is a practical yet funny survival guide for working moms who are also nursing moms.

This is a relatable breastfeeding book that is full of as much humor as it is information about breastfeeding and pumping.

Shortell has drawn on the war stories, hacks, and humor of working moms, and on her own stories from her demanding job and travel in developing countries to create Work. Pump. Repeat.

Shortell gives women moral support for dealing with the stress and guilt that come with juggling working and breastfeeding, this is a must-read breastfeeding book for the modern working and nursing mom. 

6. Latch Baby: Illustrated Guide to Breastfeeding Success

Latch Baby is a concise 118-page breastfeeding guide full of color illustrations and to the point no judgment information.

The 11 chapters in this breastfeeding book cover everything from preparing for breastfeeding, positioning, common problems, right through to returning to work and introducing solid food.

Latch Baby includes over 90 full-color images and is written by board-certified lactation consultant, Tracey Jedrzejek.

The answers to your breastfeeding questions are answered quickly and honestly in this illustrated breastfeeding guide, Latch Baby is the perfect book for busy moms who want to know everything they need to know about breastfeeding and they want to know it right now.

7. Eat To Feed: 80 Nourishing Recipes For New Moms 

When it comes to getting your newborn to latch or how to use a breast pump, have you read it all already? If so, maybe you are looking for a book about breastfeeding that offers information on how to nourish your body while you are nursing your baby.

We should all be eating a healthy and balanced diet but making the correct food choices is extra important during nursing as the food in mom’s diet directly impacts the diet of her baby.

Eat to Feed is a breastfeeding recipe book featuring 80 nourishing recipes for nursing moms. Eat to Feed is a warm, supportive, and inspiring resource for new mothers and mothers-to-be.

It features breastfeeding advice and tips alongside recipes for meals, snacks, and drinks that support breastmilk supply and overall health for new moms. 

8. Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws For Nursing  Mothers 

Breastfeeding Made Simple is one of the top breastfeeding books as it is a comprehensive resource that takes the mystery out of basic breastfeeding dynamics.

This book details the seven natural laws of breastfeeding and by equipping themselves with this knowledge, new parents are able to avoid and overcome common breastfeeding challenges such as low milk supply and breast refusal.

Breastfeeding Made Simple is the definitive guide to breastfeeding your baby. Readers of this breastfeeding book will learn how to find comfortable breastfeeding positions, overcome mastitis, how to express and store breastmilk, and much more. 

9. Breastfeeding 101: Prepare For The Suck 

Breastfeeding 101: Prepare For The Suck is a completely unique book about breastfeeding. This book uses humor and wit to guide readers through the basics of breastfeeding.

The pages are backed with playful and funny illustrations and there is plenty of boob and baby jokes to give you a giggle whilst you read.

Prepare For The Suck may be quirky but it is not all about the laughs, this breastfeeding book covers all of the essentials of nursing a newborn.

In this 40 page book, moms will learn how to prepare for breastfeeding, how to make enough milk, how to get a comfortable latch, and how to feel confident their baby is getting enough milk.

This is the top breastfeeding book if you want to learn the basics of breastfeeding quickly and with a smile on your face.

10. The Nursing Mother’s Companion

The Nursing Mother’s Companion has sold over 1 million copies and has been among the best-selling books about breastfeeding for over 30 years.

This breastfeeding book is well-loved as it provides all the essential information for new nursing moms in an accessible and encouraging manner.

There are problem-solving ‘survival guides’ scattered throughout the book, they are easy to spot with their colored bands on the pages and offer parents practical and easy-to-follow advice on many breastfeeding problems.

Kathleen Huggins equips breastfeeding mothers with all the information they need to overcome potential difficulties and nurse their babies successfully from day one to weaning. 

11. Ina May’s Guide To Breastfeeding: From The Nation’s Leading Midwife

Ina May Gaskin is a midwife with decades of experience caring for pregnant women, new moms, and babies. In her Guide To  Breastfeeding, May has shared all of her expert knowledge and advice on how to breastfeed and the biology behind how nursing works.

Ina May’s Guide To Breastfeeding features real-life breastfeeding stories alongside medical facts and expert advice.

This top-selling breastfeeding book includes all the information new moms need; you will find the answers to virtually every breastfeeding question you have inside of this book. 

12. Mixed Up: Combination Feeding By Choice Or Necessity 

Some parents decide to combination feed their babies instead of exclusively breastfeeding.

Combination feeding is when a baby is fed both breastmilk and formula; sometimes a baby will swap between breast and bottle or drink both forms of milk from a bottle.

There are many different reasons why parents’ combination feed and Mixed-Up covers all of the essential information on combination feeding.

This book covers the breastfeeding basics whilst also providing information on how to prepare and store formula, how to combination feed for a range of different circumstances, and how to care for your breasts and maintain your milk supply while combi feeding.

Like the other books in this list there are answers to your breastfeeding questions but Mixed Up is unique as it covers everything parents need to know about combination feeding in a facts-based, easy to understand, and judgement-free style. 

The Final Thought

There are many books about breastfeeding available to buy in 2024 but this list has whittled them down to the best 12.

Whether you are looking for a fact and advice-filled breastfeeding book, a more comedic guide to breastfeeding, or a book full of real-life stories, you will be able to find the best breastfeeding book for your circumstances and be breastfeeding like a pro in no time.

Once your breastfeeding journey is complete you may be wondering how to wean your baby, why not check out our guide to stopping breastfeeding.