Preterm babies, fetal patients, and childbearing choices / John D. Lantos and Diane S. Lauderdale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lantos, John D., author.

Lauderdale, Diane S., 1955- author.

Series:

Basic bioethics.

Basic bioethics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Premature labor--United States.

Premature labor.

Premature infants--United States.

Premature infants.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (230 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The United States has one of the highest rates of premature birth of any industrialized nation: 11.5%, nearly twice the rate of many European countries. In this book, John Lantos and Diane Lauderdale examine why the rate of preterm birth in the United States remains high--even though more women have access to prenatal care now than three decades ago. They also analyze a puzzling paradox: why, even as the rate of preterm birth rose through the 1990s and early 2000s, the rate of infant mortality steadily decreased. Lantos and Lauderdale explore both the medical practices that might give rise to these trends as well as some of the demographic changes that have occurred over these years. American women now delay childbearing, for example, and have fewer babies. Doctors are better able to monitor fetal health and well-being. Prenatal care has changed, no longer focusing solely on the health of the pregnant woman. Today, the fetus has become a patient, and many preterm births are medically induced because of concern for the well-being of the fetus. Preterm birth is no longer synonymous with a bad outcome. Sometimes, it is necessary for a good one. -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Contents; Series Foreword; Acknowledgments; 1 Two Narratives about Pregnancy in the Twentieth Century; 2 Individual Decisions: A 34-Year-Old Pregnant Woman at 36 Weeks; 3 Stillbirth; 4 Late Preterm Birth; 5 Are There Too Many C-sections?; 6 Feminist Critiques of Obstetrics; 7 The Debate about Home Birth; 8 Are C-sections Good for Women (and Babies, Too)?; 9 The Fetus Becomes a Patient; 10 The Pill (and Delayed Childbearing); 11 The Changing Demography of Childbearing; 12 Maternal Age, Multiple Pregnancies, and Preterm Birth; 13 Maternal Age and Infertility

14 Changing Demography and Preterm Birth Rates 15 Your Fetus Becomes a Baby; 16 A Defense of Modern Obstetrics; 17 Neonatal Intensive Care and Infant Mortality; 18 The Evolution of Prenatal Care; 19 International Comparisons; 20 The Paradox of Modern Prenatal Care; 21 Conclusions; Notes; Index; Basic Bioethics Series List

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

0-262-33081-4

0-262-33080-6

OCLC:

919720037