Expectant Motherhood
Eastman and Russell
1970
Obviously this is a slam dunk as far as weeding goes. Not only is it outdated but the condescending advice is ridiculous. There is an admonition against taking advice from your bridge club and only talk to the doctor. My particular favorite piece of advice is to be kind to the men who are training as doctors. Too many women get mad at them. I will admit that in the throes of labor one might be a tad irritated with men in general. I personally may or may not have threatened castration.) I guess they got their feelings hurt.
There is also a downplay of the “baby blues” which we now understand as post-partum depression. The book says it’s nothing serious, and eventually you will feel better. There is also discussion of pain killers with some pretty serious narcotics.
Mary
“Pregnancy should be a happy, healthy time”. Yeah there’s nothing more happiness-inducing than being violently sick every morning. I read somewhere that morning sickness might be the body’s genetic way to prevent the mother from eating something poisonous that could harm both her and the baby, but how healthy is it when you have hyperemesis gravidarum so bad you can’t eat anything and you end up in the hospital? Hyperemesis gravidarum, that sounds like a Forbidden Spell from Harry Potter, lol.
Unless you’ve given birth, you should never say that “the majority of American mothers today experience little discomfort.”
I’ve never given birth, but I’m also calling bullshit on that statement. I’ve read enough childbirth stories to know I want no part of it – ever.
This might have been in the period when “twilight sleep” was commonly practiced.
Page 187 probably could have used some more space between the illustrations…
I thought it was a very strange table lamp to begin with.
Yes, I wondered what the violence was all about!
“Baby blues”–some mild mood swings or weepiness–is normal as hormones recalibrate after birth. I remember having mood shifts about every half-day. “How was your day?” And my response was either a tearful “great!” or a head-shaking chuckle “terrible!” as I tried to keep up with them. Postpartum depression is debilitating and needs to be addressed by a professional immediately. Hopefully, there’s a further paragraph in that passage that says as much!
Honestly, that whole first paragraph on the back cover blurb is a load of crap.
With respect to the admonition the submitter calls out, it was the Facebook of the day: at least one self-certain loon with assertiveness. Wanting to avoid the death or birth defects that might result is not offensive (to me).
That said, the cover looks like it’s from the first edition (1940). It’s been translated into Dutch, Farsi/Persian twice, and Arabic.
The *7* food groups? When did they consolidate them into 4?
You can see how the number & categorization of food groups fluctuated over the years here:
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/brief-history-usda-food-guides
Who is bringing cologne to the hospital after baby is born?? And the third leg exercise looks very intense if you have a fetus over a couple of months. Sheesh.
“The throws of labor”.
Right, Mary — please fix! Should be “throes.”
I am ancient and I just learned there is a difference. Color me impressed!!!
Mary
Considering how many idiots are not vaccinating their kids (and even their pets!) due to “advice” from mommy bloggers and anti-vaxxers like Jessica Biel, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Kat Von D, I’d say the “only take advice from doctors” line is still valid and very much needs to be drilled into peoples’ heads!
Real doctors, mind you, not chiropractors and “nautropaths” and other quacks.
Make sure to bring your makeup, perfume and talcum powder to the hospital as you give birth! You want to look your best!
“Fortified margarine” — ? What the heck was that? What condescending advice given there. Also, why eat bread if it needs “fortified margarine” or butter to be palatable? At a young age I figured out that if the bread wasn’t worth eating without butter, it really wasn’t worth eating.
Also, so ironic to have doctors recommending the use of talcum powder, given that it is now suspected as a factor in ovarian cancer.
I am a degree-qualified naturopath and I WILL NOT tolerate the above comment calling me a “quack”. Our degrees are science-based and quite intensive, and yes I have great success with treatments. I WILL NOT shut up, and I WILL NOT obey.
Yikes. I’ll stick with evidence based medicine….
Poe’s Law.
You’re a quack who’s has never had a success, you just have idiots who are wasting their money on an anti-science monster that will one day kill them. Science based medicine is the ONLY REAL medicine. You are NOT a doctor. What you do is NOT medicine. You’re just a snailoils salesman. And I will not stop speaking up against monsters like you.