You're Doing It Wrong!: Mothering, Media, and Medical Expertise

New mothers face a barrage of confounding decisions during the life-cycle of early motherhood which includes... Should they change their diet or mindset to conceive? Exercise while pregnant? Should they opt for a home birth or head for a hospital? Whatever they "choose," they will be sure to find plenty of medical expertise from health practitioners to social media "influencers" telling them that they're making a series of mistakes. As intersectional feminists with two small children each, Bethany L. Johnson and Margaret M. Quinlan draw from their own experiences as well as stories from a range of caretakers throughout.   You're Doing it Wrong! investigates the storied history of mothering advice in the media, from the newspapers, magazines, doctors' records and personal papers of the nineteenth-century to today's websites, Facebook groups, and Instagram feeds. Johnson and Quinlan find surprising parallels between today's mothering experts and their Victorian counterparts, but they also explore how social media has placed unprecedented pressures on new mothers, even while it may function as social support for some. They further examine the contentious construction of prenatal and baby care expertise itself, as individuals such as everyone from medical professionals to experienced moms have competed to have their expertise acknowledged in the public sphere.   Exploring potential health crises from infertility treatments to "better babies" milestones, You're Doing it Wrong! provides a provocative look at historical and contemporary medical expertise during conception, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and infant care stages.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acknowledgements List of Photographs Part I: Conception and (In)fertility Introduction Chapter 1: On Preconception, the Beginning of the Life-cycle of Early Motherhood Chapter 2: A State of Mind?: Fertility Treatment(s) and Expertise Part II: Pregnancy and Birth Chapter 3: Red Underwear, Genes and Monstrosity: Pregnancy, Behavior and Intergenerational Impact Chapter 4: "You Women Will Have to Fight for It": Twilight Sleep and Transactional Childbirth Expertise in 20th-century America Part III: The Postpartum Period; The "Fourth Trimester" Chapter 5: "One of the Most Curious Charities in the World": Infant Incubation as Sideshow and/or Medical Specialty Chapter 6: Not Just Baby Blues: Historical Realities and Social Media Accounts of Postpartum Care Today Part IV: Infant Loss and Early Childhood Chapter 7: Memento Mori in the Victorian Era and on Social Media: The "Right" (Way) to Grieve Chapter 8: "Better Babies:" Early 20th-century Scientific Babyhood and Constructions of 21st-century Infancy on Instagram Conclusion Methodological Appendix Master Reference List Selected Bibliography Index  

About the Author :
Bethany L. Johnson is an instructor in history and an associate member to the graduate faculty and research affiliate faculty in the department of communication studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.   Margaret M. Quinlan is a professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Review :
"[You're Doing it Wrong!] made me stop to think about the advice I give and the unsolicited advice I receive. Reading the book also made me more mindful of instances where I've judged someone else for the parenting decisions they've made."— Thistle Bee "You're Doing it Wrong" — The Long History of Mom Shaming https://www.healthline.com/health-news/youre-doing-it-wrong-the-problem-with-social-media-influencers-and-parenting— Healthline "A Tongue-in-Cheek History of Infertility" https://www.momcavetv.com/history-of-infertility/— MomCave Under the Covers interview with Bethany Johnson https://charlottereaderspodcast.com/under-the-covers-with-bethany-johnson/#more-1582— Under the Covers podcast The Weekly Ritual interview with Bethany Johnson and Margaret Quinlan   — The Weekly Ritual "Postpartum During a Pandemic: Postpartum is already challenging. What about COVID-19?" by Margaret M. Quinlan and Bethany Johnson https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/medical-humanities-mamas/202004/postpartum-during-pandemic#_=_— Psychology Today "Psychologists Off The Clock" podcast interview with Bethany Johnson and Margaret Quinlan https://www.offtheclockpsych.com/podcast/youre-doing-it-wrong— Psychologists Off The Clock podcast Self-care Series: Margaret M. Quinlan QA https://www.andbreathepostnatal.com/blog/2019/09/14/self-care-series-margaret-quinlan— & Breathe Post-Natal "Our Society Has Been Shaming Moms For Centuries" interview with Bethany Johnson and Dr. Maggie M. Quinlan — Distraction Podcast (part 1) Mr. Dad "Positive Parenting" podcast interview with Bethany Johnson and Margaret Quinlan https://mrdad.com/positiveparenting-afn/youre-doing-it-wrong-the-stress-switch/— Mr. Dad "Positive Parenting" podcast "Fresh Take: You're Doing It Wrong! (with Bethany Johnson and Margaret Quinlan)"— What the Fresh Hell podcast "Through analyses of historical and contemporary cases, especially the careful study of social media and smart phone apps, Johnson and Quinlan raise important questions about expertise and power relations in defining the good mother."— Rima D. Apple, author of Perfect Motherhood: Science and Childbearing in America "EPISODE 91: MARGARET QUINLAN BETHANY JOHNSON: SOCIAL MEDIA MOTHERING" https://momdeconstructed.com/ep91/— Mom Deconstructed Podcast ""You're Doing It Wrong!": An Interview with Margaret M. Quinlan Bethany Johnson http://www.muthamagazine.com/2020/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-an-interview-with-margaret-m-quinlan-bethany-johnson/— Mutha Magazine Mable + Moxie interview with Bethany Johnson and Margaret Quinlan— Mable + Moxie "Part III: When Someone Experiences the Unimaginable: Premature Birth and Child Loss" by Margaret M. Quinlan and Bethany Johnson https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/medical-humanities-mamas/202003/part-iii-when-someone-experiences-the-unimaginable— Psychology Today "Yes, We Will Revise that RR": Birthing and Writing in the "Publish-or-Perish" Paradigm – Guest Post http://theprofessorisin.com/2019/09/23/yes-we-will-revise-that-rr-birthing-and-writing-in-the-publish-or-perish-paradigm-guest-post/— The Professor is In "Experiencing the Unimaginable: Part II: Pregnancy loss," by Margaret M. Quinlan and Bethany Johnson  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/medical-humanities-mamas/202002/experiencing-the-unimaginable— Psychology Today "It's Time to Leave the Term 'Pregnancy Brain' Behind"— InStyle Magazine "How Social Media Influences Your Motherhood with Authors Bethany Johnson and Maggie Quinlan of You're Doing it Wrong!" https://generationmom.lnk.to/Number1MomPodcastWE  — Generation Mom Episode 67: Bethany Johnson and Maggie Quinlan on "You're Doing It Wrong! Mothering, Media and Medical Expertise" https://engendered.us/episode-67-bethany-johnson-and-maggie-quinlan-on-youre-doing-it-wrong-mothering-media-and-medical-expertise/?fbclid=IwAR2HBiS9zhPmFNBD4hx6QBwWTHYJJ_V94S9HqhLerEqi33tAKJ69MzqI1fc— Engendered podcast Defining Moments podcast interview with Bethany L. Johnson and Margaret M. Quinlan https://woub.org/2019/06/24/post-partum-care-baby-milestones-and-mothering-historical-and-contemporary-challenges/— Defining Moments NYSSA: The Unmentionables podcast interview with Bethany Johnson and Margaret Quinlan https://www.buzzsprout.com/291095/1892564— NYSSA: The Unmentionables podcast The is Infertility podcast interview— This is Infertility podcast "A Conversation with Margaret M. Quinlan" https://literarymama.com/articles/departments/2020/07/a-conversation-with-margaret-m-quinlan— Literary Mama "You're Doing it Wrong! (Not!!)" The Happy Student podcast interview with Margaret Quinlan  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-happy-student/id1180759474— The Happy Student podcast "You're Doing It All Wrong – Quarantined Authors Part 3" https://www.puckermom.com/video/youre-doing-it-all-wrong-quarantined-authors-part-3/— Puckermom, Part 3 "Common Sense Pregnancy, Parenting Politics" podcast interview with Margaret Quinlan http://dcs.megaphone.fm/POD1018577234.mp3?key=484bc6c633d79e6845237ce5173862e2— Common Sense Pregnancy, Parenting & Politics "Most importantly, [Johnson and Quinlan] dedicate chapters to health scares that parents often face—surrounding preconception, fertility, pregnancy and birth, the postpartum period, infant loss, and early childhood rearing—and discuss how related medical, technical, and nontraditional (what the authors term 'lay expert') advice is frequently contradictory and confusing. What it means to be a good mother may be less clear in a socially opinionated environment that offers varied levels of expert advice; however, the pressure to be a good mother is quite transparent. Recommended." — Choice "Mtherhood in the media: an interview with Margaret Quinlan - Episode 199"  https://parentingbytes.com/motherhood-is-hard-margaret-quinlan/— Parenting Bytes Academic Minute: New Mother Challenges interview with Margaret Quinlan https://www.insidehighered.com/audio/2020/02/13/new-mother-challenges— Inside Higher Education - Academic Minute "QC Life interview with Bethany Johnson and Dr. Margaret Quinlan" https://qclife.wbtv.com/youre-doing-it-wrong/— QC Life "Motherhood Has Never Been More Complicated — Here's How to Simplify It" by Laura Donovan — She Knows "You're Doing It All Wrong – Quarantined Authors Part 2" https://www.puckermom.com/video/youre-doing-it-all-wrong-quarantined-authors-part-2/— Puckermom, Part 2 "Mother Honestly podcast interview - The Historical Construction of Motherhood, Infertility, and Women's Health with Dr. Margaret Quinlan (Ph.D)" https://motherhonestly.com/2020/07/28/the-historical-construction-of-motherhood-infertility-and-womens-health-with-dr-margaret-quinlan-ph-d/— Mother Honestly podcast "'People are at their breaking points' Pandemic brings new obstacles for working mothers"— WCNC Charlotte Margaret Quinlan interview on Birth Words podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/infertility-ii/id1470817610?i=1000457784715— Birth Words "Eugenics Theory, Better Baby Contests, and the Formation of Modern Parenting Advice" by Patrick A. Coleman https://www.fatherly.com/love-money/eugenics-history-parenting-advice/— Fatherly "The Pressures of Being a "Perfect Mom" and Information Overload: Author researcher Dr. Margaret Quinlan shares insights on this age-old feeling nearly every mom experiences" https://www.drstevesilvestro.com/the-pressures-of-being-a-perfect-mom-information-overwhelm-with-dr-margaret-quinlan— Dr. Steve Silvestro "Save Your Advice and Offer Support Instead" interview with Bethany Johnson and Dr. Margaret M. Quinlan— Distraction Podcast (part 2) "'You're Doing It Wrong': the century-old roots of mom-shaming," by Anna North— Vox "Episode 11: You're Doing It Wrong!" https://www.mightylittles.com/podcast/youre-doing-it-wrong— Mighty Littles podcast "New Books Network - New Books in Gender Studies" interview with Bethany L. Johnson https://newbooksnetwork.com/b-l-johnson-and-m-m-quinlan-youre-doing-it-wrong%E2%80%AFmothering-media-and-medical-expertise-rutgers-up-2019/— New Books Network - New Books in Gender Studies "This book is the perfect marriage of research, personal experiences, and interviews. It is well-written, thoughtful, relatable, and most importantly — enjoyable to read! I appreciated how inclusive the writing is. It will surely make you stop to think about the advice you give and the unsolicited advice you receive. We could all be a little more mindful and less judgmental."— LilHuman "Ep. 14 – Mothering: Are We Doing It Wrong? – Bethany Johnson Margaret Quinlan" https://momafterhours.com/2020/07/02/ep-14-mothering-are-we-doing-it-wrong-bethany-johnson-margaret-quinlan/— Mom After Hours podcast "You're Doing It All Wrong – Quarantined Authors Part 1" https://www.puckermom.com/video/youre-doing-it-all-wrong-quarantined-authors-part-1/— Puckermom, Part 1 "The Story with Charu" interview with Margaret M. Quinlan https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/The-Story-with-Charu-p1264598/— The Story with Charu podcast "Johnson and Quinlan offer a superb analysis of historical and contemporary renderings of both the lay and expert advice mothers receive."— Women & Language WSGE Radio - "For Your Health and Wellbeing" interview — WSGE Radio - "For Your Health and Wellbeing" "Combining historical insights and of-the-minute analyses of social media platforms, Johnson and Quinlan persuasively argue for a rethinking of what we "know" about expertise and the often-fraught journey of early motherhood."  — Kristin Celello, co-editor of Domestic Tensions, National Anxieties "You're Doing It Wrong! with Bethany L. JohnsonThe Can't Make This Up History Podcast"— They Can't Make This Up History Podcast "'You're Doing It Wrong' Authors Dicuss Infertility" by Yasmine Singh https://lifeontheup.com/2019/11/08/youre-doing-it-wrong-authors-dicuss-infertility/— Life on the Up "Masters in Parenting Podcast" interview with Bethany Johnson https://www.chicagoparent.com/learn/podcast/masters-in-parenting-episode-32/— Chicago Parent "An amazingly refreshing look back at how the medical advice given in relation to raising children has changed over the ages. It really helps to put everything into perspective, and makes you realize…we probably aren't doing such a bad job after all!"— Motherhood: The Real Deal "You're doing it wrong: a conversation with Margaret Quinlan" https://www.expectingmore.org/2020/05/05/youre-doing-it-wrong-a-conversation-with-margaret-quinlan/— Expecting More Dr. Wendy Walsh interview with Margaret M. Quinlan https://www.iheart.com/content/2020-08-02-no-moms-youre-not-doing-it-wrong/— Dr. Wendy Walsh "Baby formula shortage leaves local parents scrambling"— WSOC-TV "You're Doing It Wrong!: Mothering, Media, and Medical Expertise is a rare mix of historical, sociological, and media analysis that sheds light on the processes by which motherhood gets defined. We get a glimpse of the historical underpinnings of our relationship with medical expertise, and how media outlets create cultural consensus about mothering (if they do)."  — Julie Des Jardins, author of Women and the Historical Enterprise in America: Gender, Race, and the Politics of Memory BYURadio, "Top of Mind with Julie Rose" - episoide "Belarus Protests, Conspiracy Theories, Mom-Shaming" http://www.byuradio.org/episode/3e66e302-21fc-421b-95f2-740c03e551f0/top-of-mind-with-julie-rose-belarus-protests-conspiracy-theories-mom-shaming?playhead=3164autoplay=true— BYURadio, "Top of Mind with Julie Rose" "Empowered Health" podcast interview with Bethany L. Johnson and Margaret M. Quinlan https://empoweredhealthshow.com/ep-28-mothering-crowdsourcing-advice-and-judgment-with-dr-margaret-quinlan-and-bethany-johnson/— Empowered Health podast