Mom Genes: Inside the New Science of Our Ancient Maternal Instinct
- Downloads：9694
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-29 23:30:58
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Abigail Tucker
- ISBN：150119285X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Melissa Koesel
，
I enjoyed this book。 Very easy to read and relatable！ I would not call it a science book （more anthropological or social science） but the authors background and extensive research gives scientific credibility to her own personal stories shared。
Jeanne Nichols
，
I enjoyed this overview of how a woman， scientifically， becomes a mother。 How her instincts are awoken and how she and her baby interact， making both the mother and the baby change and grow。 Although this bok was written with scientific accuracy， it was a smooth， easy and fun read。 The author is herself a mother and uses the insight she has gained from motherhood to highlight and accent areas in this book。
L
，
This is a truly excellent book。 It is fascinating and written in an accessible easy to read style。 I haven't finished it yet， but I didn't want to let it go unreviewed。 This book is amazing and interesting for Moms and anyone interested in genetics and motherhood。 I'm not a science person although my husband and child are。 I could not be more delighted with this selection and read。 This would be a perfect Mother's Day gift in my opinion！I won this in a goodreads giveaway & am feeling especially This is a truly excellent book。 It is fascinating and written in an accessible easy to read style。 I haven't finished it yet， but I didn't want to let it go unreviewed。 This book is amazing and interesting for Moms and anyone interested in genetics and motherhood。 I'm not a science person although my husband and child are。 I could not be more delighted with this selection and read。 This would be a perfect Mother's Day gift in my opinion！I won this in a goodreads giveaway & am feeling especially lucky and "honored" to have gotten this book。 I am recommending it to my book club and my friends & family！ 。。。more
Jaclyn
，
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway and it was even better than I thought it would be。 I was a little nervous it would be a little too technical for me but the author gave a ton of information in a way that was clear and easy to follow， but not patronizing。 She kept it entertaining， interesting， and personal， while sharing scientific studies and their findings without bias or over-explaining。 The ending with advice， encouragement， and thoughts on what would help more moms was a nice way to wrap t I won this in a Goodreads giveaway and it was even better than I thought it would be。 I was a little nervous it would be a little too technical for me but the author gave a ton of information in a way that was clear and easy to follow， but not patronizing。 She kept it entertaining， interesting， and personal， while sharing scientific studies and their findings without bias or over-explaining。 The ending with advice， encouragement， and thoughts on what would help more moms was a nice way to wrap things up too。 A great educational with a light feel read！ 。。。more
Cari Allen
，
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review。As a mom of 2 with a healthy love for all things related to genetics， I was very excited to read this book。 Although the title is misleading， this book focuses less on the genetics of motherhood and more on current research trends regarding the anthropological side of maternal instinct along with a healthy dose of personal anecdotes。I found the information included to be current， relevant， and refreshin Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review。As a mom of 2 with a healthy love for all things related to genetics， I was very excited to read this book。 Although the title is misleading， this book focuses less on the genetics of motherhood and more on current research trends regarding the anthropological side of maternal instinct along with a healthy dose of personal anecdotes。I found the information included to be current， relevant， and refreshing。 It is a great read for your everyday mother without getting too clinical or scientific， although I personally wouldn’t have minded a more in-depth look at some if the studies mentioned。 I recommend this book for any new or older mom who wants to understand why we parent the way we do and understand where some of our differences may have evolved from， both genetically and environmentally。 。。。more
Kelly
，
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review。I really don't know how to classify this book。 It is definitely NOT what the title implies - in fact， there is very little genetic science in the book at all。 As a DNA scientist myself， I can assure you that there is no scientific information on mothering "genes" or any data to back up anything that is stated。 The small bit that is present is brought up and glossed over， with little to no explanation。 For example the term DNA methyl I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review。I really don't know how to classify this book。 It is definitely NOT what the title implies - in fact， there is very little genetic science in the book at all。 As a DNA scientist myself， I can assure you that there is no scientific information on mothering "genes" or any data to back up anything that is stated。 The small bit that is present is brought up and glossed over， with little to no explanation。 For example the term DNA methylation is used in the final chapter， but the definition of what DNA methylation is or more importantly how it applies in the context of the book is not even discussed， making me believe that Tucker is possibly just tossing out DNA terminology without understanding it herself。 There were some mice， vole and primate studies that were discussed， but considering humans are so vastly different and also have cultural and personal experiences that shape them， even Tucker admits that there is no way to apply what some of these studies may suggest for individual species could also be applied to humans。 Yet again though， the studies were not genetically based but more so environmental and society based。However， there are some interesting sociology and cultural points within the book， albeit mixed in with a large dose of memoir from the author。 There was indeed a lot of personal experience and storytelling from Tucker， especially on the topic of postpartum depression。 These sections were very readable and honestly， much more enjoyable than the unscientific rest of the book， but seemed to delve off from the seeming intended focus and in many instances were quite off topic。 Overall， the topics and discussion were a bit scattered and I felt it somewhat jumped all over the place， occasionally coming back to certain things many chapters later。 In the end， it is a book of theories and some ideas， but provides little to no actual information， and is all narrowly focused within the guise of a privileged， married， suburban white woman with no real focus on how these same maternal instincts that she believes to exist are manifested in women who are single， of color， underprivileged or even homeless etc。 。。。more
Heather Munao
，
My full review will be in Booklist， but this was humorous and meaningful。
Heather
，
Mom Genes is an interesting mix of research and memoir （the author’s experience with her 4 pregnancies） with many fascinating facts for the reader to blurt out at cocktail parties。 I liked that it is not all dry science but also written with humor。 I appreciated all the research the author did on the varied subjects from physical and chemical brain changes to the impact of stress on both the fetus and mom and everything in between。 This book is by no means a deep dive into the subject matter and Mom Genes is an interesting mix of research and memoir （the author’s experience with her 4 pregnancies） with many fascinating facts for the reader to blurt out at cocktail parties。 I liked that it is not all dry science but also written with humor。 I appreciated all the research the author did on the varied subjects from physical and chemical brain changes to the impact of stress on both the fetus and mom and everything in between。 This book is by no means a deep dive into the subject matter and in fact I wish there had been more written about pregnancy depression and postpartum depression。 I also wished there were suggestions for moms and moms to be， on steps they could take to improve their outcomes since that is the world they control， rather than the more global recommendations that wrap up the book。 Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher for the ARC of this book。 。。。more
Marissa Benners
，
A well-researched and fascinating book！ The author does a wonderful job making the content relatable and interesting by using personal anecdote and humor。 Thank you to Gallery Books and Goodreads for my giveaway win！
Elizabeth
，
Thank you to Goodreads， Gallery Books， and Abigail Tucker for the free advance copy of Mom Genes！Mom Genes takes a rare look at the science behind the “maternal instinct” and why， perhaps， moms are the way they are。 Abigail Tucker explores countless studies that examine motherhood in the animal kingdom and the implications they have for our human parental experiences。 The research spans the globe and includes an intriguing variety of topics related to maternity。 For instance， why do most moms （a Thank you to Goodreads， Gallery Books， and Abigail Tucker for the free advance copy of Mom Genes！Mom Genes takes a rare look at the science behind the “maternal instinct” and why， perhaps， moms are the way they are。 Abigail Tucker explores countless studies that examine motherhood in the animal kingdom and the implications they have for our human parental experiences。 The research spans the globe and includes an intriguing variety of topics related to maternity。 For instance， why do most moms （and even dads） instinctively hold their babies on their left hip？ Tucker also discusses the possible genetic connection between mothering behaviors across generations， fetal stimulation， and lots， lots more。 These types of behaviors and reactions are things I never thought twice about， but they are integral to understanding what makes moms tick， and this book has made me hyper aware of them。Tucker also， importantly， points out the impacts of socioeconomic status， marriage status， job status， etc。 on mothers and their maternal behaviors。 She notes a lawyer who was required to return to court days after giving birth， single moms who have to work low-paying jobs to put food on the table， and the fortunate others who returned to flexible and accommodating work environments postpartum。 While the majority of the book focuses on the innate drives and subconscious behaviors that shape mothers， Tucker does well to include many of the external factors that also play a major role in how we tackle motherhood。To be sure， no two moms are the same—except maybe in our collective struggle to survive each of our children’s wild phases， which somehow seem to get progressively more challenging。 But Tucker doesn’t assert that all mothers experience the maternal instinct in the same way or to the same degree。 What she does is string together a series of incredibly relatable stories from her life as a mom and present the scientific evidence to explain them。 Her book is full of surprising facts and findings and is a great read for moms or anyone else curious about this niche area of genetics。 Get yourself a copy when it goes on sale in April 2021！ 。。。more
Rosa Sealy
，
This book is set to prove that moms have different brains than anyone else， including their former selves。 Tucker is smart， witty， and fills the book with antidotes from her life experience and an abundance of scientific research。 Alas， some of the research cited seems weird and pointless。 And they're all done to prove the same redundant point。 While I enjoy her writing style， it is taking me forever to get through this book。 In fact， I'm not even finished yet but I think I may give up。 This boo This book is set to prove that moms have different brains than anyone else， including their former selves。 Tucker is smart， witty， and fills the book with antidotes from her life experience and an abundance of scientific research。 Alas， some of the research cited seems weird and pointless。 And they're all done to prove the same redundant point。 While I enjoy her writing style， it is taking me forever to get through this book。 In fact， I'm not even finished yet but I think I may give up。 This book is too dense for me to read as an ebook on my distracting cellphone。 Maybe I would enjoy it better as an audiobook。 I received a copy of this book from NetGalley。 。。。more
Donna Foster
，
Mom Genes is an interesting mixture of partial autobiography， astonishing percentages and a big force in life called motherhood。
Read Ng
，
This was a GoodReads giveaway win of an Uncorrected Proof -- Advance Readers Edition。 Publication release date is currently targeted for late April 2021。I did not care too much for the cover art。 It just put me in the incorrect starting frame of mind。In general， I have a favorable bias for journalists。 I tend to like their succinct writing style。 Informative and educational， with a dash of humor and tales from her personal experience。 The science of motherhood has advanced over the years and I h This was a GoodReads giveaway win of an Uncorrected Proof -- Advance Readers Edition。 Publication release date is currently targeted for late April 2021。I did not care too much for the cover art。 It just put me in the incorrect starting frame of mind。In general， I have a favorable bias for journalists。 I tend to like their succinct writing style。 Informative and educational， with a dash of humor and tales from her personal experience。 The science of motherhood has advanced over the years and I have not been keeping up to date。 Admittedly， my kids are ready to have kids of their own， so it has been a few years for me。 But from a father's perspective （Okay， I was a bit of a hands on Mr。 Mom to my kids）， I found it illuminating and helpful for me to better understand parenting from Mom's side。There was so much new science that I had little knowledge。 Tucker does not go into depth on these topics， but does provide enough information to start you on your own journey if you need greater insight。 More science depth would likely not be of interest for her target audience。 And there is so much truth from her personal experiences。This is a GoodReads and any prospective or current parent would enjoy reading。 。。。more
Readingcaptures
，