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Reviews
Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes
meaghanjohns's review against another edition
3.0
"True female reproductive health, which is the foundation of everyone’s health, requires that the social systems in which we live allow us to make informed choices about what is best for each of us."
3.5 stars. I waffled for a long time between a 3 and a 4 on this one.
What I liked: I learned a lot. The amount I didn't know about this particular piece of women's health was ridiculous. Garbes takes the reader through the arc of childbirth, from pregnancy to post-partum, and links that to the science. What is a placenta and what does it actually do? How did the favoured "lie on your back" birth position originate? (Spoiler: King Louis XIV was a bit of a freak.) What's the actual deal with breast milk, and doulas, and pelvic floor therapy?
What I wanted to be different: Less memoir, more science. I was happy to have the author pepper in a few personal anecdotes, but it became less appealing when those anecdotes seemed to become the basis of the final chapters.
Overall, this was definitely an interesting (and sometimes cringe-inducing) read that left me with a lot of new facts to wave around at the bar and a continued appreciation for how traumatic pregnancy can be.
3.5 stars. I waffled for a long time between a 3 and a 4 on this one.
What I liked: I learned a lot. The amount I didn't know about this particular piece of women's health was ridiculous. Garbes takes the reader through the arc of childbirth, from pregnancy to post-partum, and links that to the science. What is a placenta and what does it actually do? How did the favoured "lie on your back" birth position originate? (Spoiler: King Louis XIV was a bit of a freak.) What's the actual deal with breast milk, and doulas, and pelvic floor therapy?
What I wanted to be different: Less memoir, more science. I was happy to have the author pepper in a few personal anecdotes, but it became less appealing when those anecdotes seemed to become the basis of the final chapters.
Overall, this was definitely an interesting (and sometimes cringe-inducing) read that left me with a lot of new facts to wave around at the bar and a continued appreciation for how traumatic pregnancy can be.
lk222's review against another edition
5.0
*This is not a surreptitious pregnancy announcement.* Nor am I planning to be pregnant in the very near future. But I do plan to be *one day.* & regardless of my plans, I have a body that is designed to carry a baby, which is an experience I imagine as an incredibly-cool-but-also-nauseating alien encounter with my own body. Author @angelsgarbes & seem to be on the same page.
Like A Mother is not a baby book. It’s a fascinating & well researched “resource rooted in emerging science & real-life stories” that should be required reading. Garbes jumps into the origins of women’s healthcare with the removal of black midwives once responsible for birthing ~half of American babies & their replacement with white, male doctors who admitted to never actually attending a birth. Did you know one voyeuristic king is (at least partially) responsible for today’s unnatural birthing position? Or that having a doula (or quickly-trained female friend) accompany a birth typically reduces labor by more than one (excruciating) hour? Or that the Hmong people see the placenta as a jacket that the dead must recollect before reuniting with their ancestors? Or that oxytocin can turn a romantic evening into a comical disaster.
Garbes describes her own experiences with abortion, miscarriage, pregnancy, birth & new motherhood with intimate candidness. She’s also quite funny. She’s inclusive in her writing, sharing her own experience as a Filipina woman in a healthcare industry that prioritizes white bodies. She welcomes trans men & non-binary child bearers into her readership, acknowledging the trauma many feel during the pregnancy & birthing process. She also discusses exactly what I’ve felt has been missing from *the canon* of motherhood discussion: the right to mourn your pre-baby self & a dissonance that many women, including Garbes, feel between their pre & post-baby identities.
Garbes does not skip over the emotional rewards included in the ad campaign for motherhood, but she describes them with a new voice that is bolstered by science, history, experience, & refreshing frankness. She underscores the ludicrosity of minimizing women’s health & the many ways that new research of the pregnant body could lead to lifesaving benefits for all humans. It’s a fascinating book that I recommend to literally everyone.
intorilex's review against another edition
4.0
Actual Rating 3.5
A mix of memoir and scientific research which isn't often explored about pregnancy. I really enjoyed learning the history and information included. I wish this had some more practical advice included, but it did assure me it will be different for everyone.
A mix of memoir and scientific research which isn't often explored about pregnancy. I really enjoyed learning the history and information included. I wish this had some more practical advice included, but it did assure me it will be different for everyone.
thereaderfriend's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Racism, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse