Like a Mother

A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy

By: Angela Garbes

Narrated by: Roxana Ortega, Angela Garbes

Length: 7 hrs

Publisher's Summary

What to listen to after What to Expect.... 

A badass, feminist, and personal deep-dive into the science and culture of pregnancy and early motherhood that debunks myths and dated assumptions, offering guidance and camaraderie to women navigating one of the biggest and most profound changes in their lives.

Like most first-time mothers, Angela Garbes was filled with questions when she became pregnant. What exactly is a placenta? How does a body go into labor? Why is breast best? What are the signs and effects of postpartum depression?

But as she discovered, it’s not easy to find satisfying answers. Your OB will cautiously quote statistics; online sources will scare you with conflicting and often inaccurate information; and even the most trusted books will offer information with a heavy dose of judgment. To educate herself, the food and culture writer embarked on an intensive journey of exploration, diving into the scientific mysteries and cultural myths that surround motherhood to find answers to her questions that had only previously been given through a lens of what women ought to do - instead of allowing them the freedom to choose the right path themselves.

In Like a Mother, Angela offers a rigorously researched and compelling look at the physiology, biology, chemistry, and psychology of pregnancy and motherhood, informed by research, reportage, and her own experience. With a journalist’s curiosity and discipline, a mother’s urgency, and a food writer’s insatiability, she explores the science behind the pressing questions women have about a number of subjects, including postpartum hormones, breast milk, and miscarriage.

Infused with candor and humor, born out of awe, appreciation, and understanding of the human body and its workings, Like a Mother is a full-frontal look at what’s really happening underneath your skin (and to it) and why women need to know.

©2018 Angela Garbes (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Thought this would be better!

The narration was terrible for one thing, trying to look past this the book itself was not what I expected. It had a very pessimistic view of women and their roles as mothers.. this book was not uplifting to me at all, talk about a downer. I wouldn't recommend unless you are prepared for this. There was a lot that I agreed with and also some things that I thought that the author was creating mountains out of mole hills, so to speak. We, as mothers, all have different experiences and I am sorry that she didn't have a better story to tell.

Good info, tough listen

Very good information, super important. Narrative tone had me depressed and discouraged. Sample voice was the author, not the narrator. Suggest reading over listening. I was put off trying to get pregnant for months.

Microchimerism - interesting at first, then profoundly healing

I listened to ‘like a mother’ after hearing the author speak on Terry Gross/ fresh air. The book was incredibly fascinating as I was in my 2nd trimester of my first, Long sought pregnancy. I ended up giving birth to my daughter who died shortly after cutting the cord and am mourning her every moment since. My husband reminded me of ‘microchimerism’ we learned about in this book- the concept that our daughter’s cells are now in my body and will be for years to come. She truly will always be with me. It is profoundly healing to think of this and while my heart is broken in a million pieces and will be for some time, I am grateful to this author for writing such a powerful book about pregnancy and motherhood.

interesting, but not a fan of the narration

I heard the author pitch this book on Fresh air and was excited to listen to it as I'm due next month with our second child. The content is very interesting and I enjoyed the format, but the narration was dry, monotone, and condescending. The author reads the intro and makes me wish she would have narrated the whole book. I am familiar with the narrator and she has a lovely voice in general so I am not sure if it was the direction or what, my general advice, buy the book just not the audio version.

One of the best books I've read on this topic!

I'm a veteran childbirth educator and cannot recommend this book highly enough. The topics are ones I think all expectant parents (or those trying to conceive) need to read. They are things I talk about a lot with my students, but are too little known in our society. Please read!

A must listen

If you’re sick of reading all the pregnancy books that clearly prioritize the fetus over the mother, you’re going to love this book. I certainly did.

Fascinating information in story format

While this audio book listens like a story of the author's 1st childbirth experience, I was surprised at how informative I found it to be! I actually took notes during a lot of the book and learned a lot about the history of childbirth and the physiology of the female pregnant body.

Worst Narration Ever

It was difficult to focus on the book content as I had to fight the urge to fall asleep listening to the narrator's slooooow, monotone voice. This was the worst audio book narration I have ever heard.

Disappointing

I heard an interview with the author on NPR, which was great. Sadly, the 7 or 8 hour long book didn't offer enough other interesting facts or stories. I was disappointed with a large fraction of the book being generalities instead of stories or facts. "Show, don't tell" was sadly not a priority for this book. That all being said, it did offer a refreshing perspective and taught me a few interesting things. But I feel like I didn't get much more than I'd already heard on Fresh Air. Also the narrator's intonation was so annoying. Too clinical and fake sounding maybe. The intro by the author was a nicer tone.

negative perspective

hard to get thru because author is so negative about men and men in the medical profession.