Read Like a Mother A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy Angela Garbes 9780062662958 Books

Product details Paperback 256 pages Publisher Harper Wave; Reprint edition (May 7, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 0062662953

Like a Mother A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy Angela Garbes 9780062662958 Books Reviews

• I didn’t finish this book - I gave up in chapter 3 when the author discussed consuming her placenta. I didn’t feel the author was trying to pressure readers to also consume their placenta, but I don’t feel comfortable trying to learn any medical or scientific information from her in light of that choice.
  
  Chapters 1 and 2 felt scattered. I never felt like I was getting a thorough overview of any topic; instead, the author cherrypicks details that fit the thesis of the chapter, mixing a little bit of science and a good bit of history with lots and lots of anecdotes and quotations from other pregnancy books. It was like reading a mediocre undergraduate synthesis essay - not wrong or offensive, just all over the place without teaching me anything new, either in terms of medical knowledge or women’s studies. Here’s an example quote “I wonder if eventually the title of this book, which relies on the gendered term ‘mother,’ will feel out-of-date as our understanding of who gets to experience pregnancy and birth, as well as our views of gender, continue to evolve.” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this, but I’m looking for scientific information on pregnancy, not random musings on the nature of gender, so it isn’t the book for me. And that was the end of that paragraph, so if you wanted to think more about that topic, the book doesn’t offer much to consider.
  
  If you want a more thorough book that sticks to facts and goes into detail on the topics covered, but with a similar goal of empowering women to make informed decisions, I liked Debunking the Bump and Expecting Better. I do think this might be a good book to read if you are trans and pregnant, since she does try hard to be inclusive (unless you also draw the line at placentophagy).
• I love this book so much. I'm recommending it to everyone I know who is a mother. At nine weeks postpartum, I didn't realize how hungry I was for this exact thing. The closest a book had come to what I was searching for was EXPECTING BETTER by Emily Oster, but that's focused solely on pregnancy—in LIKE A MOTHER, Garbes gets into the complexity of new motherhood and its challenges in a way that made me feel less lonely, more understood, and newly informed about matters about which I'd not even realized I was ignorant (how breast milk actually changes, issues around the pelvic floor...).
• At 31 weeks pregnant, this is the first and probably only book about pregnancy that I will have read before my baby arrives. Being pregnant means being constantly overwhelmed and inundated by information. I have been picky about where I seek it—especially if I’m going to be committing myself to a 200+ page book.
  
  I knew when I saw the title of this book that it was the one for me. I needed something that would be unapologetically feminist; empowering without being sanctimonious; and candid about the realities of pregnancy, birth and motherhood without without making me more anxious than I already am about the toll that they take on the mind and body.
  
  This is very much a hybrid of a personal memoir and an informational book—and that makes it, mercifully, highly engaging. I gained value from reading about this like-minded woman’s thoughts, emotions and experiences, because there is of course a certain universality to all of it.
  
  The common themes throughout are ones that I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about myself the endless barrage of information, and how “sifting through these contradictory messages amplifies the already tremendous sense of responsibility you have as an expectant mother” and the distinct indifference within the medical community when it comes to dealing with women’s health, to name a few.
  
  In addition to addressing these cultural topics, Garbes also provides fascinating explanations of, for example, the placenta, which I didn’t even know was an organ.
  
  I’m coming away from reading this book with a better understanding of my own body, reassurance that my own thoughts and feelings are normal, and a sense of confidence that I’ll be better equipped to advocate for myself as I navigate post-partum life and new motherhood.
• I am 32 years old and 14 weeks pregnant, and I haven't been able relate to any pregnancy material I've read before this. Like a Mother is everything to me. It provides a voice for women and non-judgmental, actual science-based information. Angela Garbes's book should absolutely be considered the modern maternity must-read.
• It's rare, but the PR for this book describes it precisely. Angela tells you what to avoid and gives you pointers you won't find anywhere else. And she talks out of her own experience, as a mother of Filipina heritage, a feminist who's annoyed at how little attention is paid by the (male) medical establishment to the physical and emotional health of a new mother after they are on their way back home. Many websites have conflicting, inaccurate, and incomplete information. "Like a Mother" is a perfect gift for my intimate friend who just delivered her second son, I bought a second copy for myself. The new-again mom loves it just like I do.