one difficult book

[snugglekitty]

So, I spent about a month slogging my way through Birth As An American Rite of Passage. This was a book on my doula certification list. I found it very difficult to read, chiefly because it was upsetting, but also in part because it was very dense and academic. In general, I haven't read many academic books since college.

The book, essentially, is about the way that hospital birth functions as an act of ritual in our society. It is written from the perspective of symbolic anthropology, which is a philosophy that believes that the things that we do have ritual purpose within our society. In other words, where some people would say that "routine procedures" that have been shown to be ineffective or even harmful are done because of liability, or because of a lag between theory and practice, symbolic anthropology and Robbie Davis-Floyd would argue that we have a deeper, meaning-based reason for continuing to do them. That routine interventions emphasize the power of technology and the institution while devaluing the power of nature and woman, and that witnessing these interventions reinforces those messages for all present. I'm simplifying a lot here, but I recommend that you read this book if you have an interest in birth (although I don't recommend it if you're pregnant right now. Yikes!). The argument is very convincing.

I can see why this book is required reading, but there were times when it made me wonder why I had become a doula in the first place. :( The deck is stacked against those who want natural birth. I've known it all along, but this made it really clear and concrete.

Despite the fact that I didn't enjoy it, I'd give this book five stars. It brought my understanding of how birth works in the US to a whole new level.

Comments

[nepenthedreams]

A recent UTNE Reader talked about these issues too. Lately, finding out more about the medical treatment of pregnancy as a "illness" has definitely swung me in the direction of wanting a natural birth.

[abilouise.livejournal.com]

I think we have talked about this some in person, but yeah. that book was a rough read. It did give me more sympathy for the medical professionals, while also making me cojecture about the cult-nature of modern american medicine. Reading this book back-to-back with For Her Own Good will make your head explode.