Mamatoto: A Celebration of Birth

by The Body Shop Team, Carroll Dunham

Genres: Nonfiction, Pediatrics, Family

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's perhaps unfair to feel so "Meh!" about this book. When it was published in 1991 it would likely have seemed much more different and refreshing than it does now, and I am probably not its target audience (still less never having set foot in a Body Shop store since 2001 when Anita Roddick sold out to ultimate Nestlé ownership...something which didn't surprise me as much as it did others...it does make for a particularly ugly contrast with this book)

It mostly comes across as a 'gifty' sort of a book about comparative social anthropology of conception, pregnancy, birth and early child rearing (admittedly without a tone of 'look what these other ignorant undeveloped people do when we are so scientific and correct'), with a hefty dollop of pretty images and design.

[Largercircle]

I read this because it's mentioned in one of my Birthing From Within resources; it is a lovely coffee-table book. And there are many interesting tidbits of cross-cultural information in it. Unfortunately, it is not annotated - i.e., there is no way to go find out more about any of these tidbits easily.

My favorite feature of the book are the "black pages" at the end of each chapter - with a note about something you don't want to know - a fact about birth that is not happy, shiny, or lovely in any way.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best birthing book ever. Truly a delightful collage of stories and images
collected from international cultures - all about Birth.

[Anne Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great gift for New Mums