HW 38 - Insights from book - part 1

1. How the book is organized

- The book is organized into multiple chapters with small text in large amounts on each page. Citations are always found after any example is stated (which is almost every sentence) with tables and graphs often in the middle of these chapters.

2. The major question the book tries to answer

- How have we as Americans accepted health care for women and babies that is not only below standard for wealthy countries but often amounts to neglect and abuse?

and some responses you have to that question

-We believe whatever the doctors tell us whether it is right or wrong

-We don't do our own/enough research during the process

-Some of us haven't accepted it and are trying to fix the problem

-Obstetricians don't want to lose their jobs/be humiliated

3. The major insight the book tries to communicate in the first 100 pages

- The major insight the book tries to communicate in the first 100 pages is that most obstetricians do not use scientific based evidence around their reasoning for performing C-Sections, epidurals and episiotomies.

and your response to that insight

- I believe that it's horrifying that american obstetricians often don't use evidence around their reasoning for performing these life threatening surgeries that often lead to diseases in the child after a couple weeks/months and that can also kill the birth mother.

4. 5 interesting aspects of pregnancy and birth that you (and the author) agree deserve public attention

1. The way the child is delivered

2. The obstetricians that help carry out these births

3. The medical model America is using for births

4. The drugs used to "help" the mother during birth

5. The mainly false claims made by the ACOG (American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

5. The author's use of evidence

- The author constantly cites his sources with a "notes" section in the back with provided titles the evidence comes from, along with page numbers, dates and sometimes links to websites. The author uses the evidence well enough to the point where i can read the book without feeling that the progress of the book is being stalled, although the tables in the middle of the pages can be somewhat distracting.