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Bezig met laden... The American Way of Birth (editie 1999)door Jessica Mitford
Informatie over het werkThe American Way of Birth door Jessica Mitford
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 Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek.  Petra.Xs | Apr 2, 2013 |    ) Writerwithbottles | Aug 21, 2008 | geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Three decades ago, Jessica Mitford became famous when she introduced us to the idiosyncracies of American funeral rites in The American Way of Death. Now in a book as fresh, provocative, and fearless as anything else she has written, she shows us how and in what circumstances Americans give birth. At the start, she knew no more of the subject, and not less, than any mother does. Recalling her experiences in the 1930s and 1940s of giving birth - in London, in Washington.
D.C., and in Oakland, California - she observes, "A curious amnesia takes over in which all memory of the discomforts you have endured is wiped out, and your determination never, ever to do that again fast fades." But then, years later in 1989 - when her own children were adults, and birth a subject of no special interest to her - she meet a young woman, a midwife in Northern California who was being harassed by government agents and the medical establishment. Her
Sympathies, along with her reportorial instincts, were immediately stirred. There was a story there that needed to be explored and revealed. Far more than she anticipated then, she was at the beginning of an investigation that would lead her over the next three years to the writing of this extraordinary book. This is not a book about the miracle of life. It is about the role of money and politics in a lucrative industry; a saga of champagne birthing suites for the rich.
And desperate measures for the poor. It is a colorful history - from the torture and burning of midwives in medieval times, through the absurd pretensions of the modest Victorian age, to this century's vast succession of anaesthetic, technological, and "natural" birthing fashions. And it is a comprehensive indictment of the politics of birth and national health. Jessica Mitford explores conventional and alternative methods, and the costs of having a child. She gives
Flesh-and-blood meaning to the cold statistics. Daring to ask hard questions and skeptical of soft answers, her book is necessary reading for anyone contemplating childbirth, and for everyone fascinated by the follies of human activity. It may even bring about some salutary changes in the American way of birth. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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 Google Books — Bezig met laden...GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)392.12Social sciences Customs, Etiquette, Folklore Family, Courtship, Marriage and Sex Birth customs: christening, circumcisionLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde: (3.88)
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Giving birth is not mysterious, nor for most women is it complicated and outside of a gaggle of new mothers all anxious to tell their own birth stories, it really isn't that interesting either. But death, ah, now that is forever interesting because it is so mysterious. If you aren't religious, then nothing is known about it, everything is surmised and the only thing we can all be absolutely sure of is that the funeral industry is out to make as much money out of our deaths as they can. It's the one event that we have to spend our money on and generally, we have no control over how it is spent. And that is why The American Way of Death is a better and more interesting book than this one.
Giving birth got taken over by men from midwives not because they were better at it, but because they said they were better at it, and because they charged more money. Women's work traditionally is underpaid, if you want value get in a man, see how much they charge, they must be worth it! This they backed up with legislation shepherded through the UK Parliament and later US Legislature by their professional groups, all male, dealing with politicians, again, all male. Midwives, those untrained old hussies, next to witches, were expelled, and in many US States unless they are also trained nurses, remain so. Essentially, giving birth became a business.
This is taken to extremes with caesarians. Some women want them because they think they won't have to go through the pain of labour - true, but that's only a few hours or a day, the pain of a major abdominal operation is at least three weeks. Doctors want them so they can deliver babies in office hours and plan their daily calendars in advance. Hospitals want them because the mothers will be there up to five days instead of overnight, if that. Insurance companies want them because if the doctor should get sued for a problem relating to the birth they can say that everything that could be done was done (caesarians are lower-risk, but then most births are low risk anyway).
As in any business, the market has to be divided into those that will pay a lot and those that can't pay at all. So at the top are the private hospital suites and the women who have elective caesarians. At the bottom are the women who give birth in a community clinic with a midwife (doctors don't fight the use of midwives where there isn't any money in it for themselves) supervised by a doctor who probably won't attend but will be 'on the end of the phone if needed' and who collects the Medicaid fee. In between it's what you can afford and what you will pay for.
In the UK and countries with National Health Care, midwives are making a come-back. When there is no money to be made from birth, once other objections - sanitary care, complications, etc. are taken care of, even home-births are acceptable.
This was supposed to be a review, but I do wander. Anyway a wonderful nugget about Jessica Mitford to end with (culled from Hitchens' [b:Arguably|10383597|Arguably|Christopher Hitchens|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pjO3YGd2L._SL75_.jpg|15287191]. Mitford was English but went to live in the US and at her naturalisation ceremony decided at the very last minute not to tell the truth about why she wanted to become an American. Which was that the Communist Party of America would not accept her as a member until she was! (