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Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care |  | Author: Jennifer Block
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $7.57
as of 11/21/2009 15:53 CST details
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Seller: NextstepBK
Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 33419
Media: Paperback
Pages: 344
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1
ISBN: 0738211664
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.1982
EAN: 9780738211664
ASIN: 0738211664
Publication Date: April 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A 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.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 70
 I'm placing this here to combat the other 1 star reviews November 18, 2009
Ruth Phy
First, as far as the safety of Homebirths, you can find your own data supporting home birth safety over hospital. There is tons out there and the studies that they keep doing, keep repeating themselves all saying it's safe. The infant and mother mortality and morbidity rate is less than or equal to hospitals. Yes you need to me with a skilled midwife, just as you would a skilled OBGYN. Mother's often walk away with babies in better condition and more breastfeeding success and less postpartum and neonatal issues.
Second, as far as "back when, women died in childbirth when babies were born at home" Is a load of crap. Women died for reason such as infection, poor health, and preexisting high risk conditions, all of which only happen very rarely in homebirths due to midwives focus on nutrition and exercise, sanitizing medical equipment (they didn't believe in germs or bacteria back then) and they refer high risk patients to OBGYNs where they belong. When births were moved TO the hospital back in the day, away from home births, COMPLICATIONS, MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY RATES WENT UP NOT DOWN!!!!
Third, Heb B vaccine is not necessary AT BIRTH unless you feel your baby is going to be sharing dirty needles or having unprotected sex. Later in life, do what you want, it's your choice. Antibiotic cream is only necessary if you or your partner have an STD. If not, then don't worry about it. Denying either of these medications does not increase the amount of pertussis cases. That is a ridiculous connection. And in case you were wondering, Pertussis is still around today (50% of the kids who get it as FULLY vaccinated with all routine vaccines, not just DTaP) and your best bet is for you and your partner and any other person with close constant contact with baby to get the vaccine and of course as always, wash your hands a lot.
Fourth, prosecution for bad home birth outcomes? Seriously, the emergencies that arise in a home birth are the same as that of a hospital birth. (Most are also screened out in pregnancy like breech, low lying placenta or placenta previa.) As far as other life threatening outcomes, they happen hospitals too, and most women are directly upon noticed wheeled to the OR, it takes a little while for "set up". This same "set up" can be done when the midwife calls the OR that she is associated with and tells them she is on the way. Also, most of these cases are bleeding due to the placenta detaching and drugs are given, just like in hospitals to stop bleeding. If caregivers were prosecuted every time a mother or baby has an injury or death in childbirth, malpractice premiums would be MUCH higher than they are today and everyone would be out of business. And what about prosecuting DRs who give the only option for Csec due to "fetal macrosomia" (baby over 4500gm) and the woman has a 7-8 lb baby but major surgery, delayed or eliminated breastfeeding, a scar and the high costs that follow? What about that, let's start there.......
Lastly, this is evidence based, if you want to see MORE evidence and studies and facts, I encourage you to do so. The Thinking Woman's Guide to Having a Baby is another great book with facts, studies, and number, and not as much mumbo jumbo over so called "hippie talk". Get your facts and YOU decide what you want to do, don't have the decision made for you.
 Biased and strident, but still a must-read November 5, 2009
A. E. Berigtold (Baltimore, MD)
I hesitated on how many stars to give this book. In terms of the importance of this info for anyone involved in a pregnancy (mother, father, doctors, nurses, etc., not to mention all human beings of conscience who care about mothers and babies), it's a 5-star.
However, I had to deduct half a star for being too one-sided, and half a star for being too repetitive (I had deja vu all over again reading it in about a day- kept thinking I was accidentally re-reading a page, but nope, it just needed a good editor who could condense without sacrificing clarity and prose).
I agree with the message of this book in principle, but that does not mean I want to read any book that makes so little effort to present well-reasoned opposing viewpoints. (If I want to hear one-sided arguments, I'll watch Fox News or read far-left political mags!)
As I read this book, and it is a pretty fast and easy read, the devil's advocate in my head kept saying, "Yes, but I'd love to hear from more moms who were in the opposite situation- whose babies were saved by overly cautious medical professionals making aggressive interventions." Interventions aren't all bad- sometimes they save lives. It gets tiring to see all the good that hospitals do getting glossed over in favor of making a point. In fact, it makes me less likely to fully agree with the author- if the only way she can "prove" her point is to be heavy-handed and one-sided, then maybe her point isn't as rock solid as she'd have us believe.
That said, if you can get past the sophmoric reasoning and the ongoing "home birth good, medical establishment bad" tone throughout, then this becomes a somewhat engaging, though-provoking read. As a few other reviewers said, this should be required reading for all pregnant women, and like them, I so wish I had read this before having my daughter. You may think that because you are high risk, or don't politically agree with the author, that you don't need to read this book. You'd be wrong.
My birth experience was the typical one today: cascade of interventions that slowed labor, leading to episiotomy and baby whisked away to the nic specialists upon birth (I'm still not exactly sure how long I had to wait before I got to hold and breastfeed my daughter, but it was around one hour, and none of my wishes were honored as far as donating the cord blood to a cord blood bank, letting her dad cut the cord, and many more!). Reading this book after having been through the system, I finally realized what happened, why it happened, why no one honored my wishes (or even acknowledged them as valid), and how I could have possibly advocated for myself and my baby better. Anyone who is a mom-to-be or cares about one needs to read this book and then pass it along.
Let's just hope that this issue gets picked up by the mainstream media and political parties before too many more babies and moms are deprived of as natural a birth experience as possible.
Another good item on this subject: Rikki Lake's The Business of Being Born
 I wish I had read this one sooner October 20, 2009
M. Talalay (Lutherville, MD United States)
Although I am unable to have #2, I wish I had read this book before delivering my one and only baby. I left my delivery feeling angry and bullied, and I couldn't figure out why. Wasn't the birth of my only child supposed to be one of the most glorious days in my life? But, it started with a nurse who took me by the shoulders and told me to stop being so dramatic with every contraction, rolled her eyes at me constantly when I was contracting and was telling everyone within earshot that I was 'difficult.' But, my baby and my doc knew better, because my "Rocket Baby" started the process at 9am and she was out by 1:30pm. If I had known I would have encountered Nurse Ratchett at Johns Hopkins, I would have had a very burly doula come with me and tell her to back off and zip it. This book made me understand why I felt so out of control, bullied and belittled during my birth experience and I wish I had read it way sooner (or that it was available for my first birth). Thanks, Jennifer, on a well-researched and insightful book.
Required Reading for a Healthy Birth October 14, 2009
Mariah Sweet (Rochester, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this book after the birth of my first child. I had a highly medical birth that luckily did not end in a C-section, but boy was I close. And why did I come so close to being "sectioned"? What was the problem with my body, my baby, or my labor? There wasn't one. I was a first time mother who hadn't gone into labor yet, that's all.
When I was approaching 11 days past our estimated due date, my baby was determined to be "too big" by the doctor who interpreted our post-dates ultrasound. She suspected gestational diabetes (which I'd tested negative for) and said our son might end up having shoulder dystocia (rare) and not fitting through the birth canal (even rarer). This seemed odd to me, as women birth large babies naturally all the time, but we were told to go into the hospital, immediately, that day, for a C-section. I was still in my 41st week, which is within the range of normal gestation, and there was no indication of any issues with our non-stress test, ultrasound, blood work, or anything else.
Both my husband and I had a feeling that this diagnosis wasn't quite right, so we opted to induce instead. My low-risk pregnancy had been supremely healthy. We'd originally had a homebirth planned with a CNM, but the doctor doing the ultrasound had us worried that our baby was a candidate for fetal distress. So because of that mis-diagnosis, we were willing to give birth in a hospital triage ward. The end results? An unwanted (and unneeded) 36-hour induction, an epidural after 24 hours on the pitocin, a urinary catheter, a foley catheter, an amniotomy, IV fluids, continuous fetal monitoring (so I was tied to the bed)... and a perfectly healthy baby that I probably could have squatted in my kitchen and birthed in half the time. All of the interventions were for naught, because there was nothing to be fixed to begin with. This "cascade of interventions" was simply the hospital following their routine. The interventions themselves often produce worse outcomes for otherwise healthy infants, which is a possible contributor to the US having worse overall fetal and maternal outcomes than other countries. Read the Milbank Report for verification of this.
If I'd waited another couple of days for my body to go into labor naturally, I would have most likely had the same result without all the stress: a bouncing baby boy who was completely healthy. What my supposedly "post dates" pregnancy needed was regular kick counts and heart rate checks until labor began, not an array of drugs and technology to force the baby out. My suspected macrosomia baby turned out to be about a pound lighter than the ultrasound physician had told us he would be, which is the usual rate of error for ultrasound weight estimates. He was about the same size as his dad was when he was born; neither of them had any health concerns and neither were over 4500 grams (macrosomia can also be defined at 4000 grams, but either way C-section doesn't produce better outcomes).
"Pushed" covers the history of all these interventions (most of which are not evidence based), the reasons why these things happen to perfectly healthy mothers and their babies, and offers some ideas for avoiding an unnecessary C-section or induction. The writing is fresh and compelling, the research sound. If you care about your labor, read this book! Obstetrics is a developing field, like all fields of medicine, and it has in American unfortunately become a machine more than a helping hand. Other countries are doing it right and trusting what we know about low-risk births: Your baby will come out just fine. Give it some time.
Very biased but still good October 8, 2009
Megan Kramer
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you've seen the Rikki Lake documentary then you know exactly what you are getting with Pushed. Is it biased? Sure is..but it is still an important book to read if you are a woman who is considering getting pregnant or who is pregnant. It's important to educate yourself on ALL of your maternity options and they are so limited these days. Get both sides of the story of course and to be honest I wish there was an equally biased source telling the good side of hospital births in America these days. For now I'll be googling and continuing to trust but VERIFY VERIFY VERIFY.
Overall and quick read. Lots of stats but not dry. You could read this in an afternoon or two.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 70
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