Deliver me from pain : anesthesia and birth in America / Jacqueline H. Wolf.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wolf, Jacqueline H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anesthesia in obstetrics--United States--History.

Childbirth--United States--History.

Natural childbirth--United States--History.

Delivery, Obstetric--history.

Natural childbirth.

History.

Childbirth.

Anesthesia in obstetrics.

United States.

Delivery, Obstetric--psychology.

Anesthesia, Obstetrical--history.

History, 19th Century.

History, 20th Century.

Labor Pain--history.

Labor Pain--psychology.

Socioeconomic Factors.

Medical Subjects:

Delivery, Obstetric--history.

United States.

Delivery, Obstetric--psychology.

Anesthesia, Obstetrical--history.

History, 19th Century.

History, 20th Century.

Labor Pain--history.

Labor Pain--psychology.

Socioeconomic Factors.

Physical Description:

xi, 277 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.

Summary:

Like other public debates about women's reproductive health and medicine, the century-and-a-half-long discussion of the necessity and efficacy of obstetric anesthesia has been characterized by hyperbole. Voices of moderation have been drowned out by the proponents of two extreme and contradictory views of labor. The words of two nineteenth-century physicians exemplify these views. One argued that birthing chambers were principally scenes of 'cheerfulness and gayety.' The other portrayed labor as 'terrible torture, hopeless of relief.' These diametrically opposed views have persisted. The statements of two mothers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries paint the same irreconcilable pictures. One described her unmedicated labor as 'the most ecstatic, interesting, adventurous, exciting, enjoyable and personally triumphant accomplishment I have yet known.' The other condemned unanesthetized childbirth as 'a barbaric ritual.' No matter the century, proponents of the 'cheerful' and 'ecstatic' view of labor contend that obstetric anesthesia is wholly unnecessary and extremely dangerous; proponents of the 'terrible' and 'barbaric' view declare anesthesia to be an unequivocal necessity for all women who care about dignity, comfort, and health."

Contents:

"Terrible torture" or "the nicest sensation I've ever had"? : conflicting perceptions of labor in U.S. history

Ether and chloroform : the question of necessity, 1840s through 1890s

Twilight sleep : the question of professional respect, 1890s through 1930s

Developing the obstetric anesthesia arsenal : the question of safety, 1900 through 1960s

Giving birth to the baby boomers : the question of convenience, 1940s through 1960s

Natural childbirth and birth reform : the question of authority, 1950s through 1980s

Epidural anesthesia and cesarean section : the question of choice, 1970s to the present.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [205]-265) and index.

ISBN:

9780801891106

0801891108

OCLC:

228114876