What to Believe When You're Expecting: A New Look at Old Wives' Tales in Pregnancy

by Jonathan Schaffir

Pregnant women encounter advice from many directions about how to have a healthy pregnancy - not only from health care providers, but from relatives, friends, and the Internet. Some of these pieces of advice (on topics that range from inducing labor to telling the baby's gender to improving breastfeeding) have been handed down from woman to woman for generations, and don't appear in any medical textbooks. Dr. Jonathan Schaffir explores the origins of these old wives' tales, and examines the medical evidence that proves which ones may be useful and which ones are just entertaining. On topics ranging from getting pregnant to the best way to recover from childbirth, the book settles the questions of what a woman should believe when she hears such advice.--Steven Gabbe, Emeritus CEO, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology "Publishers Weekly"

Genres: Nonfiction, Medical

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2017

Reviews

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-researched and written by an expert in the field, in a very clinical tone. A concise 127 pages. Contains and debunks a lot of ancient pregnancy advice, most of which is fascinating, but not very helpful for the modern woman... perhaps a better title would be “what NOT to believe when you’re expecting.”

[Debbie Wakefield · Rating 4 out of 5]

My doctor recommended this book, mostly because it’s written by one of her colleagues so it contains sound medical advice. The book isn’t a pregnancy advice book but more of an interesting collection of pregnancy myths and old wives tales.
The author compares the myths to scientific studies and comments on which ones have no merit, could have merit with additional research or are supported by scientific evidence.
I wish this book had subheadings, titles, summaries, or was better organized. It’s not skimmable. It’s dense. The book is a wall of text that isn’t the most reader friendly. It’s a contrast to the easy to read What to Expect or Expecting Better, both of which have callout boxes, subtitles, and highlight key takeaways.
I think this book would make an amusing gift to a pregnant person but not necessarily as a guide or advice book. It’s entertaining and interesting, in the sense of marveling at some of the wacky things the Romans and Greeks used to believe about the female body. But the advice is hidden away at the end of every chapter in a short summary.
I learned that quite a few women today believe that exposing their baby to violent images will cause an aggressive child. That’s an interesting belief.

[Lisa Petronio · Rating 3 out of 5]

The material is more dense than I expected (perhaps because the vast majority of pregnancy books are fluffy). Broken into broad topics, the author tackles numerous “old wive tales” to see which have been supported by evidence. There’s an impressive collection of references in the back to support his research. After becoming familiar with the different types of research studies and Cochrane reviews (thanks to some Bradley-based books) I feel equipped to seek out the truth behind various pregnancy practices.

[Melody Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting from a medical perspective. Does read a little dry like a textbook but I found it informative and also interesting with how he debunks various folklores related to pregnancy. I wouldn’t recommend it for a pregnant woman trying to find advice on what TO do, most of this book is debunking myths and saying what doesn’t work as there are very few myths that actually have merit. It’s not a “how to” or practical book. I would recommend for the curious about the various folklores related to pregnancy.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I appreciate the effort of the author to screen medical journals for folkloric advice; I felt he repeated so much so often; so much so that it turned me off from the book. Also, the author did NOT seperate the ideas between old wives' tales that agreed with the folkloric advice vs. those that didn't.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I am NOT pregnant! lol. Just thought this would be an interesting read, and it was.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, short read. More academic than I expected, but it was still enjoyable.

[Scarlett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much information for my taste.

[tisasday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting take on investigating all the old wives’ tale about pregnancy and childbirth. The writer was very respectful of cultural differences and wrote clearly. Easy to understand thin volume of interesting read.