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Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care
Jennifer Block

Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care

Da Capo Press (Apr 07, 2008)
9780738211664
| Paperback
336 pages | 152 x 229 mm | English
Dewey 362.1982
LC Classification RG960 .B576 2007
LC Control No. 2008299431

Subject

  • Childbirth - United States
  • Maternal Health Services/ Moral And Ethical Aspects/ United States
  • Maternal Health Services/ United States
  • Natural Childbirth - United States
  • Prenatal Care/ United States

Plot

"No woman who is pregnant, has been pregnant, or plans to be pregnant should set foot inside the office of her OB/GYN before reading this."--Women's Review of BooksA groundbreaking narrative investigation of childbirth in the age of machines, malpractice, and managed care, Pushed presents the complete picture of maternity care in America. From inside the operating room of a hospital with a 44% Cesarean rate to the living room floor of a woman who gives birth with an illegal midwife, Block exposes a system in which few women have an optimal experience. Pushed surveys the public health impact of routine labor inductions, C-sections, and epidurals, but also examines childbirth as a women's rights issue: Do women even have the right to choose a normal birth? Is that right being upheld? A wake-up call for our times, Block's gripping research reveals that while emergency obstetric care is essential, we are overusing medical technology at the expense of maternal and infant health.