Description:
This book reexamines the "standard" procedures used to "manage" American childbirth, identifying non-evidence-based obstetric interventions as rituals enacting core values of the American technocracy. This new edition brings together new data with Davis-Floyd's insights into the ritualization and models of labor and birth.
Review Quotes:
"A magnificent contribution to our understanding of birthing in this country." Emily Martin, author of The Woman in the Body
"Davis-Floyd is a respectful listener who has encouraged her subjects to speak honestly about a complex experience. Consequently, even skeptical readers of the fascinating stories she has gathered should be prompted to reflect on the meaning of their own or their partners' experience of birth ... I admire, without reservation, the generous, critical, passionate spirit that animates this book." Sara Ruddick, New York Times Book Review
"Davis-Floyd has done an excellent job of demonstrating the linkages between American core values concerning technology and scientific expertise and prevailing obstetric practices. I especially value her use of women's voices to convey the essence of their delivery experiences." Carolyn Sargent, author of Maternity, Medicine, and Power