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How My Breasts Saved the World is an enjoyable (and a bit wistful, for those of us who are past that stage) look at the first year of motherhood from the perspective of a nursing mother. Lisa Wood Shapiro shares everything about life during the final days of pregnancy, childbirth, and getting to know and nurture little Sophie.
Everything Shapiro knew about breastfeeding, she learned from Brooke Shields. No, not mother-of-two-in-real-life Brooke Shields, but the young girl she portrayed in the movie The Blue Lagoon. In the movie, she made it look so easy—just bring the baby up to your breast, and presto! The baby is fed and happy. But reality is not as neat and tidy as it appears in the movies, as Shapiro quickly found out. Breastfeeding is difficult;
sometimes it seems downright impossible. There’s the engorgement, flat nipples, poor latching, leaking, thirst, and many other trials and tribulations.
Shapiro learned through trial and error how to solve her problems. She acquired a lactation consultant, joined a breastfeeding support group, and became an encouragement to others (although almost too much
so, if you ask her husband). Through it all, she also learned what being a mother really means, and that motherhood often brings with it a time of re-evaluation of priorities. I really appreciate the fact that she shares her struggles with working and being a mother and all of the decisions that needed to be made in regards to that issue. Her conflicts are universal, and she doesn’t present a “my way is better” philosophy; she just walks us through what happened to her.
I felt quite nostalgic while reading How My Breasts Saved the World, because I’m past this stage of life. I do think that anyone who has, is, or is planning to nurse a baby will get a lot out of this book. Shapiro’s writing style and easygoing manner flows well and allows the reader to laugh, cry, and groan with sympathy (and maybe empathy) at all of her experiences.
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How My Breasts Saved the World: Misadventures of a Nursing Mother