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book review needed

734 views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  tinyshoes 
#1 ·
I have been thinking of reading "Expecting Trouble" by Thomas Strong. It is about the down side of typical pre-natal care. I would like it if the book had any practical suggestions, but I don't think I want to just hear an indictment of the system, bcz it will just incense me & make me frustrated. I mean, am I sticking my head in the sand? I don't want to do that, but I am the type to get all upset at ideas & I don't want to get over analytical, I have a tendency toward that


I already know I am looking for the midwifery model of care, I just want to get what I can out of my insurance, too, KWIM? I am planning a homebirth, but also planned to go to a CNM in an OB's ofc for standard prenatal b/w & etc, just to have back up established. The birth situation is very segregated here in Tn, with CNMs not allowed to do home birth & CPMs not allowed to attend in hospital, although she could accompany me in a doula role if transport was indicated.

SO if anybody has read that & can give me a heads up, I'd be grateful.
, maria
(also posting this on I'm PG)
 
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#2 ·
I haven't read it...yet. I cut 'n' pasted a review from Amazon.com for you. The link to the page is at the end of this post.

Reviewer: kathryn m schrag from Tucson,, Az. United States
"If we as a nation want to take care of our children, we must first take care of our mothers". Kitty Ernst CNM MPH

I was thrilled to hear of and read this much needed book. Dr Strong, a perinatologist, had the courage to remind us that we as a nation are doing a shameful job in attending to the needs of our childbearing mothers and their unborn children. He begins with the disturbing data on babies born too soon and too small, and goes on in a thoughtful and scholarly way to explore the issue.

It seems to be human nature that when we recognize a problem, we knuckle down, determined to keep doing what we have been doing but doing it in a "better" way. That is exactly the problem with our system of prenatal care... and its not working. Its time to look at how we can serve pregant women in a different and better way.

As a practicing nurse-midwife, i have long believed that pregnancy and birth must be addressed not as a medical event, but as a "mind-body-spirit" event, occuring within a social context, and that the "midwifery model" rather than the "medical model" of care is the appropriate approach for low risk women. Dr Strong suppports this point of view as one of the solutions to the problems he identifies in the delivery of health care during pregnancy and birth.

I would recommend this book to EVERY student and practitioner of maternal-child nursing, midwifery,or obstetrics. THose people working within public health and public policy will also find it enlightening. Parents to be who have chosen nurse-midiwfery care for their pregnancies will be pleased to see the scientific and philosophical support for their decision coming from an expert in "high-risk obstetrics".

If I ever return to teaching, it will be required reading for my students; i am circulating a copy among the obstetricians and nurse-midwives with whom I work. Enjoy!!!

======================

Here's the info Amazon.com has:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...roduct-details
 
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