HW 40 - Insights from Book - Part 3

You find yourself at a cocktail party with the author of the book you just finished reading. To demonstrate that you really read it, you say, "Hey - thanks for writing Born in the USA. Your main idea that women should have more control over their own bodies in the stages of pregnancy and the way obstetricians take advantage of women by doing unnesscary tests and procedures, moved me to rethink pregnancy & birth."

But the author, surprised to be talking to someone who instead of sharing their own birth story actually rephrased the main idea of the text he spent months giving birth to asks, "Really, which parts were most effective or important for you?" When you answer, "Well, in the last third of the book you focused on a better way to be born in the USA and how we can reach that goal, which further developed the first 2/3rds of the book. But let me be more specific." And then you listed the top 3 ideas/pieces of evidence/insights/questions from that final third of the book (and somehow even listed page number references).

1. We need a National Health Care system, which is an essential reason to why other countries have a lower infant mortality rate (#183)

2. There should be a better public education system around maternity care as well as a better system in general (#207/209)

3. Ten steps to help the United States make progress in creating a better maternity system (#219)

At this point, realizing that s/he's having a unique conversation with a serious reader of her/his book, the author asks - "But what could I have done to make this a better book - that would more effectively fulfill its mission?" You answer, "Well, let's be clear - your text sought to provide narratives, historical analysis, journalistic analysis and policy analysis from the perspective of a obstetrician/pregnant woman in the United States for the book-reading-public to better understand pregnancy & birth in our culture. Given that aim, and your book, the best advice I would give for a 2nd edition of the text would be a more in depth look at other countries maternity systems, but I don't want you to feel like I'm criticizing. I appreciate the immense amount of labor you dedicated to this important issue and particularly for making me think about the nightmarish industrial atrocities of hospitals in the United States & how I will help my partner in the future with their birth as it will most likely now be a home birth. In fact, I'm more than likely to do the birthing process differently as a result of your book." The author replies, "Thanks! Talking to you gives me hope about our future as a society!"