Customer Reviews

Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species

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As a wildlife biologist by training, I have often been leery of sociobiologists and the analogies they draw between human behavior and that of, say, ducks. With this in mind, I devoured this book until I had to return it to the library. I then haunted the library until it had gone through all 13 holds before I could get it back, several months later. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy takes a cross-cultural, historical and biological look at human and primate mothers. She makes it very clear that humans have used many, many ways to solve problems of childcare and the conflicts for resources between mothers and their infants and other older children. She uses other primate species not as proof of human ways so much as to re-evaluate and reflect on those human ways. She is a biologist, and she is very clear about not confusing what some primates do as proof for what humans do, whether closely or distantly related. "Mother Nature" gave me great insight into my relationship with my mother, my two younger brothers, my male partner, and my decision to delay reproduction. I enjoy my designation as an "allo-mother" (someone other than the mother who helps with childcare), and am pleased to learn that the level of protectiveness that I feel for the girls and young women in my Girl Scout troops have been biologically based: those who care for children, beyond the birth mothers, will have elevated levels of the hormone prolactin. I find it fascinating that my enjoyment of environmental education has a biological base!

This book also elevated my concern for the girls I work with who are teens, coming from teen mothers (who also came from teen mothers), who seem to be fast careening towards motherhood without the resources and the patience that are critical to successful rearing of children. I liked her discussion of how girls change from pre-adolescence to adolesence in foraging societies: The pre-adolescents are the girls who are more interested in learning childcare, as opposed to the adolescents, who are more interested in dating. Anecdotally, I would confirm this! In foraging societies, girls do not gain enough fat until their late adolescence to their early twenties, and thus they do not reproduce as early as their well-fed American counterparts. For me, this is all the more reason to take measures to mentor kids, so that they have children when they will it and are ready, rather than simply because they may be biologically capable of it.

It's odd that some reviewers see this as an example of a feminist ignoring and bending facts to support feminist theory. I thought the author presented quite strong criticisms of feminism (for example, feminist claims that nursing is a socially constructed activity). In addition, one of the main points I took away from the book was decidedly UN-feminist: that male humans have been genetically selected to be LESS inclined to care for children than women are, because they can't be certain that any given child is really theirs. In contrast, since a woman knows that her child really is her child, she is MORE biologically inclined to care for it (depending on the circumstances, as Hrdy goes into at length). It did seem that Hrdy was herself not pleased with this conclusion, but discussed the issue at length nonetheless.

Fantastic book that combines science with literature, history, HUMOR (great illustrations), personal stories, feminist critique, science critique, speculation, political polemic, and weird facts. I especially recommend the book for people interested in biology, history of humanity, feminism, and parenting. Hrdy is sure to win a major award for this book. I read every page.

The reader of Mother Nature is in for a thorough treat. In its most fundamental essentials, the game of life comes down to competitive reproduction: which individuals--which lineages--produce the most young that also survive and reproduce. Sara Hrdy presents fascinating facts relating to motherhood, many little known or appreciated, that reveals the essentials of the human struggle to produce offspring and keep them alive. How has striving for power and status by females been critical to the survival of their lineages? Why does breast-feeding prevent pregnancy sometimes but not others? What about genetic changes affecting reproductive behavior in humans? There have been roughly 400 generations of humans since the Neolithic, and it has been proven (in fish, for example) that significant evolutionary changes can occur in the DNA of a species in only 40 generations; what sorts of changes may have occurred in reproducing humans? What are the causes of infanticide, by males and mothers? By presenting the research behind such facts in roughly historical sequence and because of her personal acquaintance with many of the primary researchers and theoreticians, readers get not only answers to the questions, but a wonderful sense of how science works and a feeling for the personalities who have toiled to find the truth as opposed to myth. SEX: Is it true that "Women are from Venus. Men are from Mars?" Hrdy's brilliant synthesis of over a hundred years of primarily biological and anthropological study explains how and why this catchy generalization does capture deep truth about the sexes. CHILDREN: Ever wanted to know what children need--what your child needs bare minimum--to grow into a confident caring adult with maximum potential for emotional and intellectual achievement? Assumptions of the past suggest the answer is a selfless, utterly devoted and caring mother. And we know what guilt is heaped on the head of any parent who even suspects he or she is denying this full-time, selfless sort of caretaking. But the answer, arduously won by the labors of hundreds if not thousands of biologists and anthropologists and explained by Hrdy with charming wit and style, is both astonishing and liberating. Here are three pivotal quotes: "All early caregivers become the emotional equivalent of kin." (p. 509) "Caretakers need not be the mother, or even one person, but they have to be the same caretakers." (p. 508, emphasis mine). "Any (committed) caretaker is capable of communicating the message infants desperately seek--'You are wanted and will not be set aside.'" (p. 509) Much of the book is an explanation and exploration of the basis for these provocative generalizations. If we want to create a social environment that is baby-friendly and human-friendly, what are the required fundamental ingredients for such a social world? If the goal is confident and caring adults, then Mother Nature is an extraordinary synthesis that, in my view, makes the outline of these needed ingredients quite clear. So the question now becomes, have we the will to provide the incentives--laws and resources--that will allow us to fill in the details and then act to move us toward that desired outcome? Mother Nature is a "must read" for anyone concerned with childhood and human development.

At long last, a book on the nurturing impulse has been written without sentimentality or wishful thinking. Blaffer Hrdy brings her scientific training, intellectual drive, and obvious warmth and humor to this project. If you're a woman who values your full human potential as much as, or more, than your ability to populate, and if anyone has ever tried to make you feel guilty about such an "unnatural" set of priorities, this is the book for you. Especially valuable is Blaffer Hrdy's openly avowed love for her spouse and children; it serves to remind the reader that you're not reading a political manifesto, but deeply thought-out, sensible scholarship by a caring, gifted individual. If you're looking for slick excuses for your point of view, whatever it is, don't look here. If you seek understanding of what you are -- and what we all are -- then read this enjoyable book. Anyone who wants children certainly should.

Sarah Hrdy takes pains to avoid trying to interpret the data to support ideological political or feminist views of motherhood. She is very clear that her inspiration to write the book was that her observations did not match with her prior assumptions. The result is a view of "mother nature" that will both support and undermine any existing sociological ideology. It's funny to see how politically conservative readers are ranting about the work being tainted by feminist bias. In fact, Hrdy's major success is to illustrate the extent to which previous views of motherhood have been tainted by masculinist bias and wishful thinking.

Sarah Hrdy demolishes many long-held cultural icons with this wide-ranging study of the nature of motherhood. She is not, however, merely a nullifier of perceived wisdom. Her aim is to encourage fuller knowledge of where humans are placed in the realm of the animal kingdom. Motherhood, the essential point of how evolution works, is examined here as fully as current research can achieve. Hrdy shows how the role of "mother" and "woman" have been inextricably linked through much of Western history. Unlike other animals, humans can set ideals for behaviour, ordaining how mothers "ought to behave." Deviance from these perceived "norms" has led to various social disruptions, including the famous witchcraft scares. Ignorance of the evolutionary roots of motherhood have led to a mind-set Hrdy sets out to dispel in this excellent work. She addresses motherhood with a mind almost unfettered by myths. Almost, because she is quite candid about her own feelings and experiences. Not all her emotions were faced with total detachment.

Motherhood, she declares, is anything but the simple mythology of unrestrained devotion. Across all Nature, mothers and their offspring wage ongoing competition. The issue is resources. Infants, all infants, demand as much as a mother can give, and more. Mothers have to support their infants, but inevitably are occupied with other responsibilities, not the least of which may be the infant's siblings. There are others beyond the mother-infant tie to which she must respond. If her species is male-dominated, she may face his abuse. Worse, she may be confronted by invasion by an outside male. In some species, that spells the doom of her infant. Hrdy has studied this and related aspects of motherhood among many species, and expresses her own shock at the discovery of primate infanticide.

Mothers must maintain many elements in balance, with but a gentle pressure on the scale resulting in disaster. Family size, role in the family and in the group, location, changing conditions, all contribute to the complexity surrounding a mother's relationship with her offspring. In humans, this complicated arrangement carries the added burden of a wholly dependent child. Even monkey young can cling to a foraging mother. Human babies must be carried. In our evolutionary past, this condition made the pair vulnerable to predators. Hrdy coins the phrase "alloparent" applied to another option - allocating care of the baby to someone else. In the modern world, of course, we call it "day care." Allomothers exist in many primate species, however. "Care-giving" isn't just an urban condition.

"Allomothering" historically has led to some disreputable practices, from child slavery to outright abandonment. Hrdy cites horrifying statistics for infants abandoned at foundling homes. Still, we have no reason to doubt her numbers. Orphans, like other prisoners, are a forgotten element in civilized society. There's another side to allomothering among humans. What to do with women who are no longer able to bear children - the uniquely human phenomenon known as "menopause"? Hrdy's response typically focuses on evolutionary roots. Women no longer hindered by their own offspring are ideal care-givers. With their experience and wisdom, they readily handle child care and other activities. The "granny" evolved in humans in large part due to infant dependence, Hrdy stresses. It was a significant step in forming the human community.

Hrdy's free-flowing style and ready wit make this important book highly readable and informative. She's done, or drawn on, a wealth of research to produce it, presenting riches of information without resorting to pedantry. It's an extraordinary accomplishment, deserving your fullest attention, your gender notwithstanding.

I find myself raving about this book to every woman (and man) I know. This is the most astounding and thought-provoking book I've read in recent years. Professor Hrdy is an emeritus professor of anthropology at UC Davis who puts the behavior of mothers and infants into an evolutionary context, using a comparative approach and drawing from sociobiology, anthropology, and psychology. I enjoyed this book from my perspectives as a student who did doctoral research in behavioral ecology; as a scientist who's tired of the superficial stereotype of instinctive, selfless maternal devotion; and most profoundly as a mother who's trying somehow to balance the equation of doing good for my family, myself, and the world as an ecologist with a conservation group. I appreciated the fact that she did not just rely on her own research on langur monkeys, but extensively reviewed other studies (and pointed out the dearth of studies that challenge societal assumptions that all mothers should care for every infant under any circumstance). She also entertains different hypotheses instead of just staking out a prescription based on an idealized version from one point in human evolutionary history (i.e. romanticizing hunter-gatherer societies), as seen in anthropologist Meredith Small's "Our Babies, Ourselves", which is also a wonderful book, but lacks the breadth of Hrdy's scholarship.

I frequently read this book as I rocked and nursed my infant son, which made everything more vivid to me. Hrdy writes with grace and humor about topics such as the origins of lactation (the rapture and thrall of oxytocin), the sensual (and hormonal) appeal of infants (so luscious you want to eat `em up). I was fascinated by the many ways that mothers seek to secure resources for their children (such as the tradition of godparents, or women's "unnatural" ambitions in the workplace). But reading the tragic chapters in European history of unsuccessful wet-nursing and wholescale infant abandonment while nursing my baby was almost more than I could bear.

One theme Hrdy reiterates throughout the book is how mothers throughout history forge workable compromises between infant needs and maternal ambition. She shares her experiences as a mother and scientist, and reflections from other women in the field. I found myself cheering "Yes!" in her final chapters, when she steers the debate of working mothers away from the gender politics of "Is it bad for infants when mothers work?" to the more critical question "How can we ensure that infants are cared for as lovingly and securely as kin?" whether that's by the mother or 'allomothers' [relatives or helpers who care like mothers]. "All early caregivers become the emotional equivalents of kin. Any caretaker is capable of communicating the message infants desperately seek - `You are wanted and will not be set aside'. (p. 509)" While the mother is uniquely equipped to meet that need, with her physical contact, her scent, her milk, she's not the only one who can answer when an infant seeks "the meeting eyes of love." Hrdy has written a passionate and scholarly book that is both an engaging read as well as a profoundly enlightening look into human nature. I cannot recommend this more highly.

Sarah Blaffer Hrdy's book Mother Nature is really a wonderful book. A complex combination of history, anthropology, sociobiology, and psychology, this is an ambitious look at how and why mothers act with their kids. I had a wonderful time reading it, despite my initial concern about the length (it just whizzes by!) and I loved the visuals. My particular favorite is the chapter titled "Three Men and a Baby" -- Guys out there, Listen Up!!

. . . this is the one! Hrdy's writing is simultaneously scholarly and accessible, her scope wide-ranging, her findings thrilling. I had to make a conscious effort to leave the book at home so that I could get my work done while at work. Otherwise, every waking moment was spent reading this book. As it was, the other waking moments were spent thinking about the book (and trying to get other people to read it so that I could have someone to talk to about the ideas in the book).

The Kirkus review was very apt--read it for some idea of the content and scope of Hrdy's book.

Oops, I have to get back to work!