Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood (2001) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

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Characters/People edit see section history

• Ina May Gaskin: midwife
• Elizabeth Ann Seton: Add a description of this character.
• Cara
• Yasmin
• Minnie
• Sam
• Daisy
• Stephanie
• Greta
• Robin
• Solomon
• Ms Troy
• Dianne
• Sarah
• Amos
• Matt
• Schofield
• Cleo
• Tom
• Dan
• Alex

Quotes edit see section history

• “A dream…tells the…woman herself that she is about to be with child.”

  M.F. Ashley-Montagu, Coming Into Being Among The Australian Aborigines

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• women whose health plans can afford to reimburse the hospital for a C-section are more likely to be told they must have one.

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• True revolution, it slowly seemed clear to me, would come about only when we demanded that the world conform to our needs as women, and that it deal fairly with the fact that we are weakened as well as strengthened by childbirth.

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• The video had taught us that we would not be allowed to eat or drink during labor lest we need a C-section and need to be put under anesthesia, for there was, we were told, a risk of choking; we were not informed that the data that showed a risk from a full stomach in the event of surgery dates from 1946, when anesthesia was far cruder than it is today, and has since been discredited—while eating and drinking during labor have been proven to keep a woman’s strength up for effective pushing, thus protecting her from other damaging interventions.

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• an episiotomy can cause pain during sex, and loss of sexual responsiveness, for up to seven years.

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• It is also very hard to lobby for better pay and conditions in order to do the work of motherhood if good motherhood is itself emotionally defined as sacrifice.

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• But the fact is that a heavily pregnant woman, a woman who has just given birth, and a new or nursing mother are all “disabled” in a sense. They do need “more” from their employers and families than men do. Postfeminist women’s own guilt at needing special treatment has helped to ensure that women are slow to ask, let alone demand, their right to more at such times.

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• One of Gloria Steinem’s most famous aphorisms about the women of the second wave of feminism states: “We are becoming the men our mothers wanted us to marry.” In contrast, I, along with other ambitious women of my generation, felt myself gradually becoming one of those women with whom I had always refused to identify.

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• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has recommended that routine continuous monitoring be dropped from the standard of care for low-risk pregnant women. They recommend intermittent listening.

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• Women’s willingness to sacrifice themselves for the good of their children is something that our society—from individuals to institutions—relies upon. It is useful leverage in pressuring women of all classes into giving in, in different ways, to unequal deals, negotiated hesitantly from the place of vulnerability that is one’s concern for one’s child.

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• The fetus seems to react strongly to hearing its father’s voice while in utero. Babies whose fathers spoke to them in utero using brief, calming sounds were able to identify their father’s voices within the first few hours of life.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Italy
• Tennessee
• America
• New York
• Uk
• Washington
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Usa
• London
• Pitocin
• Malaysia
• Europe

Organizations edit see section history

• MOTHERS: (Mother Ought to Have Equal Rights) – mother’s lobby
• National Cesarean Prevention Movement: Add a description of this organization.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Primigravida: Latin medical term for “a woman in her first pregnancy.”

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Naomi Wolf (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 618.20019

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Health, Mind & Body › Personal Health › Women's Health › Pregnancy & Childbirth
• Books › Nonfiction › Women's Studies › Feminist Theory
• Books › Parenting & Families › Family Relationships › Motherhood