Recommended Books List

A go-to guide for parents seeking evidence-based advice for navigating the initial (and often wobbly) stages of feeding and nurturing a newborn.

Recognised for her reassuring and encouraging voice, trusted by parents and midwives alike, this book is your one-stop, supportive guide to feeding your baby, no matter which route you take: breastfeeding, expressed milk, formula milk or a combination.

The essential, gentle guide to breastfeeding in the fourth trimester - whatever that looks like for you.

The Mindful Breastfeeding Book is the first of its kind, linking the workings of the mind to having a more fulfilling breastfeeding experience.

Many families find themselves feeding their baby a combination of breastmilk and formula–either by choice or through circumstance. Despite this being a very common way of infant feeding, there is a lack of non-judgemental, empathic, evidence-based information available to support parents.

In Breastfeeding Grief: Understanding and Recovery we delve into the complexities of breastfeeding difficulties. Looking at a broader picture and providing solace for mothers who feel they failed their breastfeeding goals by reframing the narrative—these challenges are not based on an individual’s failings, but rather reflect broader societal issues.

Feeding your baby is hard enough without misinformation catching you out. Breastfeeding is one area where everyone has an opinion, but how can you figure out what’s accurate and what’s absolute nonsense? Is it true that your big baby needs extra milk? Does breastfeeding make your breasts sag? Do strawberry seeds REALLY pass into breastmilk? Spoiler: No. No they do not.

Many parents worry about their child's sleep, and parents of new babies are often exhausted - but there is hope. This realistic, reassuring, and refreshing guide to sleep looks at sleep for both parents and children, and aims to empower and encourage parents to feel calm, confident and compassionate in their parenting.

Still Awake is a relatable and non-judgemental book for parents of children aged 18 months to 12 years old, and those that work with them, which explains the science of children's sleep and provides a multitude of practical and creative tools to support sleep, reduce conflict at bedtime and improve relationships. Firmly rooted in gentle and respectful parenting, it is an essential tool for improving night-times for the whole family.

For many years La Leche League has set the standard for supporting families with breastfeeding. This new edition of their classic bestseller brings generations of wisdom to today’s parents, with up-to-date information, new illustrations, and stories from mothers, fathers, and grandparents around the world who share their own experiences.

This comprehensive and accessible guide provides birth workers and lactation professionals with the skills to help families navigate the emotional and physical challenges of weaning. Using a compassionate, person-centred approach that prioritises the needs of both mother and child, this pioneering resource details the emotional impact of weaning and offers practical guidance and expert advice suitable for professionals and parents alike in order to facilitate complex decision-making processes and set healthy boundaries.

This evidence-based guide for professionals covers essential information to help support parents breastfeeding past the first six months, including starting solids alongside breastfeeding, nursing manners, and common problems and challenges.

Many babies are fussy and spit up milk, and in recent years it has become common for them to be diagnosed with reflux and medicated with antacids, thickeners and acid suppressants. However, research tells us that reflux is normal in young babies and that many of the symptoms associated with it may in fact be misunderstood baby behaviours rather than clinical symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).

Nearly all babies in the UK receive formula milk at some point during their first year of life. Yet finding independent and factual information about formula feeding can be surprisingly difficult, as much of the material available to parents, carers and health professionals is generated by the formula industry for marketing purposes. How can parents make properly informed decisions about which brand to choose, how much to feed and when, and how to prepare products safely?

Bringing together the stories and experiences of LGBT+ parents as well as professionals in the field, this guide explains what healthcare and birth workers can do to improve care for their clients. It broadens the ability to understand those who birth and parent beyond the heteronormative and cisgender binary.

As rates of multiple births increase, birth professionals are discovering a distinct lack of resources to support parents who wish to breastfeed. Written in an accessible format, Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets is a source of information for parents, lactation consultants, birthing professionals and healthcare workers wishing to support multiple birth families.

Breastfeeding and Medication presents a comprehensive A to Z guide to the most frequently prescribed drugs and their safety for breastfeeding mothers. Evaluating the evidence for interventions and using a simple format for quickly identifying medications that are safe or unsafe to use, it also highlights those drugs where there is inconclusive evidence. Additional contextual information makes this the most complete text for those practitioners who support and treat breastfeeding women.

Some sleep experts are quick to suggest quick fixes to lengthen infant sleep, but there is growing concern that techniques such as extinction may have negative outcomes for infants as well as being stressful for parents. Holistic Sleep Coaching is a multi-dimensional approach that looks at the big picture and recognises that babies’ needs are not just physical but psychological, emotional and relational. Holistic Sleep Coaching provides an evidence-based overview of how to optimise sleep without leaving babies and children to cry for health and child care professionals.

High quality support plays a vital role in protecting breastfeeding and there are clear policies and training in the maternity and neonatal settings. But what happens when support is needed for infants and children in the separate paediatric setting where training and support lags behind?

Breastfeeding the Brave addresses this under-researched area, highlighting the needs and challenges of medically complex infants and children in paediatrics. Aspects of care related to sleep and bedsharing in hospital, responsive parenting and maternal mental health are also discussed. Drawing on novel research it explores the difficulties of feeding children with both common as well as serious, critical and life-limiting conditions.