Randi Hutter Epstein

I wanted something other than what I got here. I found the editing abysmal and the anecdotes distracting. There wasn't enough meat, either. For example, in the chapter about the doctor who experimented on slaves until he perfected the technique to repair fistulas, the technique itself is never explained. An oddly disjointed, surface-skimming account. Also, the author calls leeches "bugs", which lost multiple points with me.

There were interesting bits, and I did finish the book, but mostly I kept thinking how much better it could have been than it was.… (más)

Dr. Epstein, an obstetrician/gynecologist, has written a well-researched book on the history of childbirth in America. She documents many milestones in OB/GYN across at least three centuries. A few parts of this book were extremely difficult to read. Dr. Epstein describes a 19th century male physician who bought or borrowed female slaves and used them as experimental surgery subjects. Some of these women endured up to 30 surgeries all without anesthesia. He supposedly believed that black women were not as able to feel pain as white women. Prenatal x-rays were standard for American mothers until the mid 20th century. A female OB/GYN discovered a connection between leukemia in some of the children born to these x-rayed mothers. Even after this discovery many male obstetricians continued to perform x-rays on expectant mothers until sonograms became available. This book made me shake my head in disbelief at some of the things that were done to women in the name of research. It took many years for obstetrics and gynecology to be recognized as a separate discipline. The author shows just how much women had to endure in the process. You'll want to read this non-fiction book cover to cover.… (más)