Making Babies The Science of Pregnancy Book

One of the blurbs on the cover bills this as a sort of "detective mystery" that the author pursues in unraveling the biology of his own kid's fetal development. That blurb is sorely mistaken. I think the author mentions his own kid maybe twice. This book is heavy on the history of the science of embryology, which is interesting, but not really what I was after, as an expectant parent.

There is, however, a very memorable explanation about the mechanics of the circulatory system. In utero, the fetus get all of its oxygen through the placenta, so there's a valve within the heart leaving the arterial connections to the lungs "open"--because the fetus doesn't need the lungs for oxygen. But the moment a baby emerges from the womb into the air and sucks in that first breath, the valve closes, sealing the circulatory system, and diverting blood into the lungs for oxygenation. Just one of many, many things about being born that is pretty darn traumatic. But also amazing!

But if you're looking for a good book on the science of your fetus's development, this likely isn't what you want. In part because the focus is really about all mammals, not just humans, and in part because the genetic science is simply out of date.