Book cover of Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy

Book description

A candid, feminist, and personal deep dive into the science and culture of pregnancy and motherhood

Like most first-time mothers, Angela Garbes was filled with questions when she became pregnant. What exactly is a placenta and how does it function? How does a body go into labor? Why is breast…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked Like a Mother as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book delves into the science of pregnancy, but through a feminist lens. Through extensive research, Garbes details just how the female body creates life, a sometimes grisly and often wonderous process, as well as pans across our culture, with all its pitfalls, to explain just why women deserve better support through medical care and social nets.

I wish I’d read this book before I had my child because it centered me through the upheaval of early parenthood better than other more didactic books. Garbes looks at pregnancy unflinchingly but also with curiosity and empathy. She’s the smart, candid mom friend you wish you had.

From Megan's list on when life throws you a curveball.

If you love Like a Mother...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Like a Mother?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Like a Mother.

Browse books like Like a Mother

Book cover of Expecting Better
Book cover of It's Ok That You're Not Ok: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand
Book cover of Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Like a Mother, you might also like...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of The Main Gate

The Main Gate by Yvonne Kjorlien,

Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.

Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…

5 book lists we think you will like!