"The Surprising History of How We Are Born: Birth" by Tina Cassidy
How is the book organized?
In the introduction chapter of "Birth", Cassidy discussed how her experiences while she was pregnant mixed with stories she heard from her friends influenced her to write this book. From chapter one on, the book is very heavy on facts derived from personal stories and other primary and secondary sources such as history books.
Essential Question:
From what I have read so far, the question Cassidy wants to be able to answer, not necessarily with this book, is; How is it that "...we can touch the moon and predict the weather, map the human genetic code and clone animals, digitize a photograph and send it from Tokyo to Tehran with the touch of a button, but we can’t figure out how to give birth that is --simultaneously and constantly--safe minimally painful, joyful and close to natures design."?
- No one can really answer that question, but if I were to theorize, I would say it is because the human race is the most fit to progress in this world and the universe knew this when it created us, hence, the universe decided to give us a harder time when reproducing. Why? Maybe so we don't "breed like rabbits" and soon run out of resources to sustain our population yet all the other types of animals on the planet.
Major Insight:
I think the major insight that Cassidy tried to convey was the importance of midwifery in our society and how it isn't given enough attention.
Everyone needs help. No matter how experienced or confident you are at doing something, a little useful advice or a general push in the right direction never hurts. Some first time mothers may be skeptical at the idea of just one midwife being able to help her through this strenuous process and may eventually give in to the industrialized system of today's hospitals. Most common people would do this. Only people who are educated and well informed on how pregnant women are treated in hospitals will choose the natural and traditional process which is; being surrounded by their loved ones and a midwife who helps her through every step of the way.
Evidence Convincing?
I think the evidence is very convincing since Cassidy uses various primary sources such as stories from mothers who gave birth in hospitals, birthing centers, and at home. This helps the reader, it helped me, get a wider perspective on the whole birthing process and helped me see the pros and cons of every method or location. The author also used historical data to give threaders insights on how the common diet affect a woman's pregnancy. So far, I think the book is very convincing but I look forward to learning more about the pros of child birth in hospitals since that is he most common form of gin birth nowadays and so far in the book, Cassidy has only focused on the cons.
