I: "Hey - thanks for writing Pushed. Your main idea that pregnant women seeking medical care have both the right to recieve and refuse treatment, that they have the right to know the risks and benefits of each treatment option (including the option of no treatment at all), and that informed consent is fundamental ethical obligation of health professionals, made me percieve pregnancy in a new way."
But the Block is surprised to be talking to someone who instead of sharing their own birth story actually rephrased the main idea of the text she spent months giving birth to.
Jennifer Block: "Really, which parts were most effective or important for you?"
I: "Well, in the last third of the book you focused on pregnant women's rights (or lack thereof) in hospitals and society, which built upon your assertions in the first two thirds of the book, because it discussed how women are pressured to forgo their rights in favor of "norms" (which are often dangerous, unnecessary, industrialized and atrocious). But let me elaborate! You mentioned on page 226 that "The birth of a child is literally the making of community, the creation of the next generation, the transformation of a couple into a micro community....what we've done is criminalized women's options, and more than that, we've criminalized the making of community." It is clear that the removal of rights in the OBGYN can lead to communal and generational problems that last. You said on page 248 that "I think there will come a time when we will remember or will rediscover - perhaps it will be so distant that we'll feel we have discovered - the intrinsic value of birth where we realize all of this is folly. That we can't control health in the ways we think we can. And that in fact the most important and valuable thing we can give ourselves is a woman under her own steam, bringing her babies forth." The industrialized, harried nature of hospitals has led to so much drug use and physiologically un-savy procedures that we are quickly losing understanding of what it means to have a birth that is not industrialized. If we give women their rights, then perhaps we will gain the meaning of natural, physiological birth back into society. Lastly, page 254 of Pushed discusses one of the ultimate cases of unnecessary, harmful situations for pregnant women who have lost rights: Angela Carder, who had cancer and who suffered the death of her baby soon before her own death (with both deaths resulting from lawyers forming lawsuits and at the same time ignoring "basic concepts of bodily integrity and informed consent.")
Jennifer Block: "Really, which parts were most effective or important for you?"
I: "Well, in the last third of the book you focused on pregnant women's rights (or lack thereof) in hospitals and society, which built upon your assertions in the first two thirds of the book, because it discussed how women are pressured to forgo their rights in favor of "norms" (which are often dangerous, unnecessary, industrialized and atrocious). But let me elaborate! You mentioned on page 226 that "The birth of a child is literally the making of community, the creation of the next generation, the transformation of a couple into a micro community....what we've done is criminalized women's options, and more than that, we've criminalized the making of community." It is clear that the removal of rights in the OBGYN can lead to communal and generational problems that last. You said on page 248 that "I think there will come a time when we will remember or will rediscover - perhaps it will be so distant that we'll feel we have discovered - the intrinsic value of birth where we realize all of this is folly. That we can't control health in the ways we think we can. And that in fact the most important and valuable thing we can give ourselves is a woman under her own steam, bringing her babies forth." The industrialized, harried nature of hospitals has led to so much drug use and physiologically un-savy procedures that we are quickly losing understanding of what it means to have a birth that is not industrialized. If we give women their rights, then perhaps we will gain the meaning of natural, physiological birth back into society. Lastly, page 254 of Pushed discusses one of the ultimate cases of unnecessary, harmful situations for pregnant women who have lost rights: Angela Carder, who had cancer and who suffered the death of her baby soon before her own death (with both deaths resulting from lawyers forming lawsuits and at the same time ignoring "basic concepts of bodily integrity and informed consent.")
At this point, Blcok is realizing that she's having a unique conversation with a serious reader of her book. Jennifer Block: "But what could I have done to make this a better book - that would more effectively fulfill its mission?"
I: "Well, let's be clear - Pushed sought to provide narratives, historical analysis, and statistical analysis from the perspective of midwives, mothers, doctors, lawyers, and doulas for the book-reading-public to better understand pregnancy & birth in our culture. Given that aim, and your book, the best advice I would give for a 2nd edition of the text would be to extend your analysis of what happens when a procedure such as a VBAC or home birth is banned in a given area. You said that women would go to a place that allows for the kind of birth they desire, but the economic and medical implications of that occurence were not discussed. It occurs to me that there will be a sudden demand for obstetritic care in that area. How do you think that will affect the OBGYN or practicing midwives in the stricter states? Will there be more babies and pregnant women living in these "baby- and birthing-friendly states? Will this affect the quality and quantity of post and prenatal care in the rest of the country? But I don't want you to feel like I'm criticizing. I appreciate the immense amount of labor you dedicated to this important issue and particularly for making me think about weighing the pros and cons of all birth-related procedures I might encounter and empathizing with doctors and their lifestyle and cause without necessarily agreeing with their judgement as I percieve it. In fact, because I read your book, I'm likely to do attempt to forgo all drugs and hospitalization if I become impregnated, and encourage the pregnant women with whom I am close or become close to educate themselves before agreeing to do anything to their body.
Jennifer Block: "Thanks! Talking to you gives me hope about our future as a society!"
I: "Well, let's be clear - Pushed sought to provide narratives, historical analysis, and statistical analysis from the perspective of midwives, mothers, doctors, lawyers, and doulas for the book-reading-public to better understand pregnancy & birth in our culture. Given that aim, and your book, the best advice I would give for a 2nd edition of the text would be to extend your analysis of what happens when a procedure such as a VBAC or home birth is banned in a given area. You said that women would go to a place that allows for the kind of birth they desire, but the economic and medical implications of that occurence were not discussed. It occurs to me that there will be a sudden demand for obstetritic care in that area. How do you think that will affect the OBGYN or practicing midwives in the stricter states? Will there be more babies and pregnant women living in these "baby- and birthing-friendly states? Will this affect the quality and quantity of post and prenatal care in the rest of the country? But I don't want you to feel like I'm criticizing. I appreciate the immense amount of labor you dedicated to this important issue and particularly for making me think about weighing the pros and cons of all birth-related procedures I might encounter and empathizing with doctors and their lifestyle and cause without necessarily agreeing with their judgement as I percieve it. In fact, because I read your book, I'm likely to do attempt to forgo all drugs and hospitalization if I become impregnated, and encourage the pregnant women with whom I am close or become close to educate themselves before agreeing to do anything to their body.
Jennifer Block: "Thanks! Talking to you gives me hope about our future as a society!"
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