Synopses & Reviews
At last, a fun, accessible book on pregnancy that goes beyond the how-to and explains the why—a bright piece of brain candy about the science behind genes, hormones, instincts, and other big-picture issues.
Did you know…
• Mothers unknowingly influence the gender of their children. Maternal stress levels, sexual promiscuity, temperament, and nutritional status are all factors.
• Expectant fathers often find themselves plump and puking—likely triggered by chemical signals in their pregnant partner’s sweat and saliva.
• An expectant mother’s brain shrinks, her skin darkens, and her senses sharpen. She may also become repulsed by her partner’s odor.
• The month of a baby’s birth can predict how tall she will be, how easily he will put on weight, how long she will live, whether he will be a morning bird or a night owl, and her scores on college entrance examinations.
Dissatisfied by what she could find about some of the odder mysteries surrounding conception and pregnancy, Jena Pincott, author of the acclaimed Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?, spent her own pregnancy writing a unique, surprising book for expectant parents. Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? goes beyond the hazards and health advice in most pregnancy books to delve into what really happens to a woman’s body—and baby—during what is surely one of life’s most interesting adventures.
Review
“Do Chocolate Lovers have Sweeter Babies is utterly fascinating … and a great read.”
—Christiane Northrup, M.D., ob/gyn physician and author of the New York Times bestsellers: Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause
Review
“Having delivered many babies in Africa and raised one of my own, I was thrilled to find plenty of old-fashioned common sense suffusing Pincott’s survey of cutting-edge research. Casual, but never careless, her light style is a fine complement to her balanced, informed scholarship. Covering everything from martinis to Mozart, Pincott’s book is full of useful thinking that will inform and comfort expectant mothers (and fathers) everywhere.”
—Cacilda Jethá, M.D., co-author (with Christopher Ryan) of Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality
Review
"In
Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?, Jena Pincott takes us on a fascinating tour through the science of pregnancy. She answers questions, shares stories, and passes on insights gleaned from her exhaustive research. Reading it is like having a friend—an extraordinarily wise, funny, and well-informed friend—walk you through the nine months before birth. Pincott tells you everything you wanted to know about pregnancy but were afraid to ask."
—Annie Murphy Paul, author of Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives
Review
"Delightful! This book is destined to become everywoman's --and man's --secret guide to pregnancy. A must read."
—Louann Brizendine, M.D. neuropsychiatrist author of The Female Brain and The Male Brain
Synopsis
Where Baby Mama meets the Discovery Channel, a bright book of brain candy about the wild science behind pregnancy.
Synopsis
Brain Candy for expectant parents!
Pregnancy is an adventure.
Lots of books tell you the basics—“the baby is the size of [insert fruit here].” But pregnant science writer Jena Pincott began to wonder just how a baby might tinker with her body—and vice versa—and chased down answers to the questions she wouldn’t ask her doctor, such as:
• Does stress sharpen your baby’s mind—or dull it?
• Can you predict your baby’s temperament?
• Why are babies born in the darker months of the year more likely to grow up to be novelty-loving risk takers?
• Are bossy, dominant women more likely to have boys?
• How can the cells left behind by your baby affect you years later?
This is a different kind of pregnancy book—thoughtful, fun, and filled with information you won’t find anywhere else.
About the Author
Jena Pincott has a background in biology and was a production assistant on science documentaries for PBS. She is a former senior editor at Random House, and is the author of
Success: Advice for Achieving Your Goals from Remarkably Accomplished People and
Healing: Advice for Recovering Your Strength and Spirit from the World's Most Famous Survivors. Jena lives in New York City and plays the clarinet. She travels as much as she possibly can, usually with her husband, Peter, and writes science fiction under a pen name.
Jena’s previous book,<> Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?, is about the science of love and attraction. The book received a “starred review” in Publishers Weekly and generated widespread media attention, including appearances by the author on ABC’s Good Morning America, Fox News, CBS’ The Early Show, NPR, and coverage in Glamour, Redbook, Newsweek, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the Washington Post, and the Associated Press.