Imperfect Pregnancies


Book Description

How has prenatal testing, once offered only for high-risk pregnancies, become standard medical care for pregnant women today? In the 1960s, thanks to the development of prenatal diagnosis, medicine found a new object of study: the living fetus. At first, prenatal testing was proposed only to women at a high risk of giving birth to an impaired child. But in the following decades, such testing has become routine. In Imperfect Pregnancies, Ilana Löwy argues that the generalization of prenatal diagnosis has radically changed the experience of pregnancy for tens of millions of women worldwide. Although most women are reassured that their future child is developing well, others face a stressful period of waiting for results, uncertain prognosis, and difficult decisions. Löwy follows the rise of biomedical technologies that made prenatal diagnosis possible and investigates the institutional, sociocultural, economic, legal, and political consequences of their widespread diffusion. Because prenatal diagnosis is linked to the contentious issue of selective termination of pregnancy for a fetal anomaly, debates on this topic have largely centered on the rejection of human imperfection and the notion that we are now perched on a slippery slope that will lead to new eugenics. Imperfect Pregnancies tells a more complicated story, emphasizing that there is no single standardized way to scrutinize the fetus, but there are a great number of historically conditioned and situated approaches. This book will interest students, scholars, health professionals, administrators, and activists interested in issues surrounding new medical technologies, screening, risk management, pregnancy, disability, and the history and social politics of women’s bodies.




Fertility Transition in the Developing World


Book Description

This open access book provides an overview and analysis of the causes and consequences of the massive and highly consequential transition in reproductive behaviour that occurred in Asia, Latin America, and Africa since the mid-20th century. In the 1950s contraceptive use was rare and women typically spend most of their reproductive years bearing and rearing children. By 2020 fertility and contraceptive use in Asia and Latin America reached levels commonly observed in the developed world. Africa’s fertility is still high, but transitions have started in all countries. This monograph is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of these trends and their determinants, covering changes in reproductive behaviour (e.g., use of contraception and abortion), preferences (e.g., desire to limit and space births) and the role of socioeconomic development (e.g., education). The role of government policies and in particular family planning programs is discussed in depth. Particular attention is given to provide a balanced assessment of several political and scientific controversies that have beset the field. As such this book provides an interesting read for a wide audience of undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and public health policy makers.




The Pickup


Book Description

Nick Somebody once said we don't decide who we love. The world decides for us. But I disagree. I believe love is a decision. Who we love, how we love. It's in our control--in our hands. I grew up having no clue about the true meaning of love. Money. Cars. Houses. Status. Fame. That's what love means to the people around me. It wasn't until the woman I picked up in a bar came back into my life and showed me love can be so much more. So, what's the problem? The woman I'm falling in love with believes in fairytales. She compares everything to a storybook and wants the happily-ever-after. So while she's stuck on recreating stories that have already been told, page by page, I'm showing her it's time we write our own book. Nobody ever said the journey of falling in love would be easy, just that it would be worth it.




The Myth of the Perfect Pregnancy


Book Description

A historical exploration of the history of miscarriage and the development of the current childbearing culture in America, with its expectation of carefully planned, assiduously tended, and emotionally precious pregnancies.




Facing Death


Book Description

Facing Death




Psychological Aspects of Women's Health Care


Book Description

In the decade since the first edition of this work was published, an incredible array of reproductive technologies and associated issues has emerged. Obstetricians and gynecologists are hard-pressed to deal with the startling breadth and depth of these issues, which require mastery over a daunting combination of ever-increasing scientific knowledge, technical skills, long hours, legal liability, and exposure to clinical situations of overwhelming emotional intensity. Psychiatrists have a vital role to play in helping obstetricians and gynecologists cope with a host of problems whose resolutions require not just technical skill, but also knowledge of biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, ethics, and law. For example, to design and implement strategies to reduce the transmission of HIV, psychiatrists could work with public health workers to incorporate the psychology, sociology, and anthropology of female reproductive behavior. Psychiatrists could likewise improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast and pelvic malignancies by elucidating the factors that deter women from self-examination and regular medical screening and enhance treatment compliance. Divided into three sections, this clinical and theoretical sourcebook addresses every major area of contemporary concern. Pregnancy covers topics from the psychology of normal gestation to physical and psychiatric complications during and after pregnancy, including new prenatal diagnostic techniques and the dynamic issues that emerge when abnormalities are detected, and the use of psychotropic drugs and electroconvulsive therapy in pregnant and lactating patients. Gynecology discusses not only common gynecologic problems but also more controversial issues such as induced abortion and the new reproductive technologies, including the role of the menstrual cycle in exacerbating and precipitating psychologic symptoms, the psychiatric aspects of menopause, the assessment and management of chronic pelvic pain, the psychosocial concomitants of gynecologic malignancies and the emotional demands on the oncology team, and the special implications of HIV/AIDS. General Issues offers a broad, balanced view of topics rarely found in the literature, such as men's reactions to women's reproductive events, substance abuse and eating disorders, sexual and physical abuse (often part of the histories of patients with personality disorders and posttraumatic stress disorders), ethical and legal issues, and health care for lesbian patients. Of special significance is Dr. Stotland's chapter on how consultation-liaison services are provided to obstetrics and gynecology services. This practical and scholarly volume is exceptionally useful as a teaching reference for medical and other health care students and residents in psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology. It also provides a valuable resource for the clinician working to improve the psychological well-being of women patients.




Perfectly Imperfect Family


Book Description

A brother shares how his family honors his sister, even though she died before he was born. Oftentimes referred to as a rainbow baby, children born after the death of a sibling often wonder about the one who came before them. Perfectly Imperfect Family gently acknowledges the stigma associated with loss, grief, and including a baby who has died by offering loving ways in which a beloved baby can be celebrated during special days and every day.







The Best Intentions


Book Description

Experts estimate that nearly 60 percent of all U.S. pregnancies--and 81 percent of pregnancies among adolescents--are unintended. Yet the topic of preventing these unintended pregnancies has long been treated gingerly because of personal sensitivities and public controversies, especially the angry debate over abortion. Additionally, child welfare advocates long have overlooked the connection between pregnancy planning and the improved well-being of families and communities that results when children are wanted. Now, current issues--health care and welfare reform, and the new international focus on population--are drawing attention to the consequences of unintended pregnancy. In this climate The Best Intentions offers a timely exploration of family planning issues from a distinguished panel of experts. This committee sheds much-needed light on the questions and controversies surrounding unintended pregnancy. The book offers specific recommendations to put the United States on par with other developed nations in terms of contraceptive attitudes and policies, and it considers the effectiveness of over 20 pregnancy prevention programs. The Best Intentions explores problematic definitions--"unintended" versus "unwanted" versus "mistimed"--and presents data on pregnancy rates and trends. The book also summarizes the health and social consequences of unintended pregnancies, for both men and women, and for the children they bear. Why does unintended pregnancy occur? In discussions of "reasons behind the rates," the book examines Americans' ambivalence about sexuality and the many other social, cultural, religious, and economic factors that affect our approach to contraception. The committee explores the complicated web of peer pressure, life aspirations, and notions of romance that shape an individual's decisions about sex, contraception, and pregnancy. And the book looks at such practical issues as the attitudes of doctors toward birth control and the place of contraception in both health insurance and "managed care." The Best Intentions offers frank discussion, synthesis of data, and policy recommendations on one of today's most sensitive social topics. This book will be important to policymakers, health and social service personnel, foundation executives, opinion leaders, researchers, and concerned individuals. May