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Your Baby, Your Way: Taking Charge of your Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting Decisions for a Happier, Healthier Family Kindle Edition

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 128 ratings

A finalist for a Books for a Better Life Award, this eye-opening, must-read book arms parents with the information they need to make informed decisions about their own health and the health of their babies.

In
Your Baby, Your Way award-winning journalist Jennifer Margulis explores our current cultural practices during pregnancy, childbirth, and the first year of a baby’s life, challenges advice given to new mothers, and encourages parents to question what they’re told about prenatal and infant care. Margulis explains how financial interests often skew the treatment we give to mothers and infants, investigating topics such as:

· How the diaper industry perpetuates delays in potty training
· Why cesareans are increasingly prevalent
· Why more women don’t breastfeed

Based on meticulous research and in-depth interviews with parents, doctors, midwives, nurses, health care administrators, and scientists, Margulis’s impassioned and eloquent critique is shocking, groundbreaking, empowering, and revelatory. Going beyond the advice in the
What to Expect books, Your Baby, Your Way inspires and empowers, helping couples have a happier, healthier pregnancy and childbirth, and “motivates women to ask ‘why?’ before blindly agreeing to everything their doctor orders” (Booklist).
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Pregnancy and childbirth are wildly vulnerable times, and one is desperate to put one's faith in the doctor. Jennifer Margulis reveals why that trust is sometimes misplaced, and helps us to make wise choices when the stakes are high. This is a must-read book for parents and parents-to-be,and for the medical professionals who care for us.” (Harriet Lerner, Ph.D. author of The Dance of Anger and Marriage Rules)

"A new mother's first instinct is to protect her newborn. But how can she best do that in a consumer culture so focused on its bottom line?
The Business of Baby exposes some hard and shocking facts about how even the most well-meaning American parents unwittingly buy into systems that do documented harm. Thought-provoking and exhaustively researched, this book is destined to inspire much-needed dialogue about the current American way of birthing and caring for our young." (Hope Edelman bestselling author of Motherless Daughters)

“Jennifer Margulis's searing and well-researched exposé is a must-read for expectant mothers. Whether she is discussing common obstetric practices, circumcision, vaccination, breastfeeding, bottlefeeding, diapering, or choosing a pediatrician, she points the way to rational, health-based decision-making.” (Ina May Gaskin )

“Worthy of close consideration by parents.” (Kirkus)

"A must-read for expectant mothers... points the way to rational, health-based decision-making.” (Ina May Gaskin, author of Spiritual Midwifery )

“The most ambitious and best documented popular book about the American way of birth and infant care I have ever seen.” (Norma Swenson, M.P.H. founding co-author, Our Bodies, Ourselves and lecturer, Harvard University, School of Public Health )

About the Author

Jennifer Margulis, PhD, is an award-winning journalist and Fulbright grantee. Her work has been published in The New York Times; The Washington Post; O, The Oprah Magazine; Parents; Parenting; Brain, Child; Mothering Magazine; More Magazine and on the cover of Smithsonian. A Boston native, she lives in Ashland, Oregon with her husband and four children.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008J4KZH2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; Illustrated edition (April 16, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 16, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 12939 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 369 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 128 ratings

About the author

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Jennifer Margulis
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Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., is an award-winning investigative journalist, Fulbright grantee, and sought-after speaker. The author/editor of seven nonfiction books, she has been researching and writing about issues related to children’s health and well-being for fifteen years. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, on the cover of Smithsonian Magazine, and in dozens of other magazines, newspapers, and websites. She has taught literature in inner city Atlanta; appeared live on prime-time TV in Paris; and worked on a child survival campaign in Niger, West Africa. A meticulous researcher who's not afraid to stick her neck out, she is nationally known as a journalist whose writing helps empower women and children. The daughter of world-renowned evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis, she is originally from Boston, Massachusetts but now lives with her family in southern Oregon.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
128 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and insightful. They describe it as a great, well-written read that should be a must-read for pregnant women.

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30 customers mention "Information content"30 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides useful information for parents. It is well-researched and comprehensive, with helpful resources. The author lists sources for her information.

"...Eye opening the author backs up her claims with fact based science and studies." Read more

"...Contrary to what the attackers say, this is a very well researched book, with a lot of valuable information for pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and anyone..." Read more

"...young mothers to be their child's strongest advocate, and educating around information that is often missed by others." Read more

"...the fact that she took the time and effort to make such a thoroughly researched book." Read more

16 customers mention "Readability"16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and well-written. They say it's comprehensive and a must-read for pregnant women. The book provides sources and resources for additional reading.

"Read it, you will devour every chapter. Eye opening the author backs up her claims with fact based science and studies." Read more

"...also interviewed many people to make the book even more interesting, readable, and relevant...." Read more

"A great read for those of you who want to make informed decisions regarding details about raising a baby...." Read more

"Wow. Packed solid with industry insight and eye-opening information. A must read to make informed decisions for your baby's health." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2024
    Read it, you will devour every chapter. Eye opening the author backs up her claims with fact based science and studies.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2015
    I am a medical doctor who has spent the last 4 years researching infant immunity, vaccination, and all aspects of pregnancy, delivery and the first 3 years, because I saw that my medical education was NOT sufficient in teaching me all I really needed to know. And that was after 20 years practicing as an Internist and GP.

    I have read the conventional medical literature as has Dr Margulis. But Dr Margulis has also interviewed many people to make the book even more interesting, readable, and relevant.

    Contrary to what the attackers say, this is a very well researched book, with a lot of valuable information for pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and anyone planning to have a baby or assist anyone who is having a baby. Jennifer Margulis is a scholar, a mother, and a world renowned lecturer who deserves acclaim for this timely and necessary work.
    41 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2020
    As a father of a 2 year old toddler, there are many things I wished I had known before our son was born and Jennifer's book fill in the gaps for some of the burning questions I kept asking. The chapter on how American diaper industry purposely kept children's potty training in such a delayed state in comparison to the rest of the world was eye opening. Your Baby, Your Way inspired me to invent a new way to potty train in an attempt to reverse the continuum up trend in the current dire diaper reliance.
    7 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2023
    Empowering young mothers to be their child's strongest advocate, and educating around information that is often missed by others.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2021
    This book opened my eyes to the impact that industry advertising has on how we care for our children and their health.
    My husband is a doctor. I am a lawyer. We wish we had this book when our children were born - particularly our son. It would have been life-changing for our family.
    12 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2017
    A great read for those of you who want to make informed decisions regarding details about raising a baby. The author comes to different conclusions than I do, but I love the fact that she took the time and effort to make such a thoroughly researched book.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2021
    There are many good books on pregnancy and childbirth. Some help decipher research and guide your choices, some are tomes of everything you could possibly think to ask about pregnancy, and then there is this book. Here you will find information on the kinds of experiences profit-mongering hospital CEOs and insurances force on obstetricians, preventing pregnant women from spending the time they need with their physicians to insure a safe and healthy delivery for moms and babies. This book encourages you to ask for the kind of obstetrical care you want and gives you the information you need to make pregnancy and delivery decisions in your and your baby's best interest.
    7 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2019
    This book is so helpful for people who want to know what kinds of things will be offered to them during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. It's important to know what things will be offered, and what conditions really indicate that they are needed. Often things like induction or certain newborn procedures are pushed as routine, when really they can do more harm than good. Our birth care in the US has some serious issues, and this book helps mothers to be prepared and confident in their own choices.
    10 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Lyndy
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all parents and everyone
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2013
    Jennifer Margulis has done a brilliant job of researching and writing about this highly controversial subject. She has exposed the corporate greed that manipulates our buying choices, parenting beliefs and drives government policy against the best interests of the populace. She demonstrates how you, the parent, actually intuitively know what is best for your children. She exposes the unnecessary death, damage and permanent injury that is occurring due to non evidence based practices, mostly driven by greed. Everyone should read this book!
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Rosie Jennings
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2013
    Very informative and well researched. But still an easy and enjoyable read. Mostly about the USA but lots of info on Europe and relevant across the globe. We need to take our babies of the market.
  • KKB
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2017
    Excellent

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