By Abigail Tucker
Naturally, Mom Genes starts off in a maternity ward — for sheep. Science writer Abigail Tucker is assigned to watch the pregnant ewes and assist if any of the huge, clumsy mothers-to-be go into labor. It’s an odd scene. You can feel the impatience and anticipation in both author= and sheep, as well as a sense of awe.
The scene is one of many instances where Tucker highlights the complexities of pregnancy, birth and parenthood. Beyond the illustrative moments from both her own life and others’, Tucker has a knack for unravelling the science behind the many processes that researchers have studied in mothers (and fathers). For starters, you may have heard of the so-called “maternal instinct.” Isthat even quantifiable? And how do the brains of mothers change postpartum?
Even if those questions aren’t ones you’ve pondered, don’t sell this book short. (I had reservations before I ...
