Lisa Wood Shapiro, a writer and an Emmy-winning filmmaker whose work has appeared on PBS, A&E, Nickelodeon, Noggin and elsewhere, studied nonfiction writing with the late Lucy Grealy and the poet Thomas Lux. She lives in New York City with her husband and three children.  

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Q:   Okay, how did your breasts save the world?
A:   Technically speaking my breasts didn't really save the world, but they saved my world--my world of new motherhood.   I was so determined about succeeding as a breast-feeding mother that at one point I lost perspective about their importance in the universe. I felt I was nursing for all of humankind.  

Q:  People are buzzing about recent books on motherhood and its place in our culture--where do you see your book in the discussion?
A:  First and foremost I see my book as good old entertainment. I want people to be able to laugh at themselves and me and the whole situation of new motherhood and breastfeeding--something that often doesn't come as "naturally" as most women expect. I focus on my personal choices such as staying home versus working and I offer advice on nursing and I try to stay funny. The first year of motherhood is so tough and often lonely that you need an arsenal of humor..

Q:   Is that what compelled you to write a breastfeeding tell-all?
A:   I thought I was so prepared.   I bought the right crib, the cute bumper, I knew where to get the stylish maternity clothes, I took the hip labor classes, and then I had the baby. I was fairly lucky with my labor, and I thought, "Now the hard part is over."   What I didn't realize was that the hard part hadn't even begun.  

Q:   By the "hard part" do you mean nursing?
A:   Yes, I based much of my knowledge of breastfeeding on this scene I saw in The Blue Lagoon : Brooke Shields holds her newborn son and the baby just pops right on.   I should have known better.   The Blue Lagoon isn't too realistic to begin with, and I was in my teens myself the last time I saw the movie.   But I stashed that scene in the back of my brain in some file labeled "nursing is easy."    

Q:   It's the information age, yet nursing seems to be mystery to many women. Why?
A:   Though I now know several women who read books about nursing and knew where to go for support and guidance, I also know many women, like myself, who prepared only for labor. When the baby came, we assumed he or she would latch right on and eat.   I had never seen a woman latch a baby onto her breast in person. If I did catch a glimpse of a woman nursing in public I politely looked away. Here's the thing: anthropologically speaking we were supposed to have witnessed a thousand latches by the time we had our own offspring.   There was a time in the not too distant past--even a hundred or so years ago--when nursing was very much part of a woman's daily life. Your mother, your sister, your neighbor, the women in your sewing circle, all these women would nurse without embarrassment.

Q:   What place do you think nursing has today in our culture?
A:   Nursing makes people uncomfortable, so it's been pushed to the back room, the bathroom stall, or the car in the parking lot. We've all heard about women "caught" nursing in restaurants or stores, horrifying the other patrons. It makes me so sad--recently I had the opportunity to go to a museum where I saw two 18 th century paintings, beautiful works showing mothers nursing, and a sculpture of a mother nursing her infant. They were gorgeous images--scenes from our lives--who we are as humans.   Yet, the nursing mom in the media is often the butt of jokes, as a 1960's throwback or an over-sexualized woman.   In the film Me, Myself, and Irene , Jim Carrey's character latches on to a buxom blond mother's breast and nurses.   In the next shot, he has milk moustache.  

Q:   How do you think people react to images of a nursing mother today?
A:  It often depends on the community you are in.  In America some people are fine with it and some people see it as something to be gawked at.  There was an incident in upstate New York several years ago at the Stewart International Airport during an art exhibit. A local artist painted a baby nursing--a natural and lovely depiction.   The picture hung in the concourse for two days.   They removed it after receiving 15 complaints from passengers.

Q: What do you think the future holds for the nursing mother? Do you see any hope for a change?
A:  I think the nursing mom's image is getting a much-needed makeover—several years ago it was great to see Cynthia Nixon's character Miranda latch her baby onto her breast on Sex and the City.  Jennifer Aniston's character Rachel on Friends breast-fed on-air as well.    Those scenes were both historic and chic.  But recently I was watching the American version of the sitcom The Office and they had a shot of a woman pumping. She was at her desk out in the open in front of all of her co-workers, including one male worker who was just staring at her. She said something snide to him. I am a fan of the show but it was a cheap shot at nursing moms.  She is such an easy target. I really couldn’t believe the scene and I couldn’t relate to the woman.  I pumped at work, but only in private quarters. My primary concern in 2007 is the fact that breastfeeding is not a protected federal civil right and insurance companies are not obligated to cover the cost of lactation consultants.  

Q: What about women who choose not to breastfeed?   Are you horrified when you see a woman bottle-feeding?
A:   Every mother makes her own personal decision about how to feed her infant.     I have never been interested in being part of the polemic of breastfeeding versus bottle-feeding.   I am more concerned with the public policies and how they affect families, such as day care and tax deductions when it comes to baby sitters.   

Q:   What do you most want the reader to take away from your book?
A:   This is the book I wish I read those first few lonely weeks.   I needed both a good laugh and camaraderie.   I was a professional woman with my own company – I managed employees, budgets, and deadlines.   And then I had this tiny newborn and I couldn't manage any of it.   I couldn't even breastfeed at first but I was able to get help. Women who've read the book tell me that it made them laugh and cry and I hope it also lets them know they're not alone.   I want them to be aware that there are people out there who can help them to get the nursing thing down.   There's a scene in the book where my lactation consultant compliments me on my efforts to nurse my daughter.   I remember how much that compliment meant to me, how good it made me feel.   She saw me as successful for sticking it out rather than a failure for having difficulty.   I hope every woman who reads my book gets that same feeling.