Giving Birth: A Journey Into the World of Mothers and Midwives
By Catherine Taylor
Perigee, $14.95
The United States ranks 22nd in the world in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity rates, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, even though we spend more on birthing than most other nations.
In Western European countries, writes author Catherine Taylor in “Giving Birth,” midwives attend 75 percent of births; in the United States that figure is just 7 percent. The countries with the best statistics on maternal and infant well-being, she argues, are those with national health-care systems that allow universal access to care and rely heavily on midwifery. When midwives attend births, there are fewer Caesarean sections and drugs, and labor times are shorter.
So why have U.S. midwives faded from the picture? And where they have been brought back, how do midwives deal with the demands of managed care, which asks them to spend less time with each patient–the very opposite of the midwife philosophy?
Taylor, a mother of two who in this book documents the birthing experiences of her first and second children, provides an intimate look at the daily lives and conversations of midwives, following them into exam rooms and documenting how they help women go through labor and delivery. Woven throughout are statistics and examples of how modern medicine and managed care can negatively affect women who, she says, deserve much better when it comes to birthing, pre- and post-natal care.
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Resurrecting Sex: Resolving Sexual Problems and Rejuvenating Your Relationship
Dr. David Schnarch
HarperCollins, $24.95
Americans often joke that marriage is a death knell for a flourishing sex life. But you needn’t be married to have trouble with sex. In fact, writes clinical psychologist and sex/marital therapist Dr. David Schnarch in “Resurrecting Sex,” “I’ve long known that sexual unhappiness is widespread. Sexual dysfunctions and dissatisfactions are rampant among normal, healthy couples.”
Besides the stories he has heard in 20-plus years of practice, two recent phenomena bore out Schnarch’s theory. First was the popularity of Viagra, the easily administered and readily accessible erection medication. Skyrocketing sales made journalists and others realize that there’s trouble in America’s beds. Second was the Internet.
“Therapists started hearing complaints from clients that spouses [or they themselves] preferred masturbating online to having partnered sex,” writes the author. “As complaints grew, the scope of unhappy marriages and sexually barren relationships became more apparent.”
Need statistics? The National Health and Social Life Survey of 1,749 women and 1,410 men ages 18 to 59 reported that 43 percent of women and 31 percent of men reported having a sexual problem in the prior year. Half of all those surveyed have difficulty with sexual desire; 17 percent of men and 11 percent of women report being anxious about their sexual performance. And so on.
All this is to say that Schnarch views sexual problems as normal, which should immediately reassure any reader in need of help.
Schnarch has been there too, suffering at one time or another from issues ranging from premature orgasm to getting and maintaining erections. “Having looked for information and felt patronized, dehumanized and pathologized, I’ve made sure this book offers you a different experience. This book is what I wished someone would have given me,” he writes.
Filled with ideas and examples from client couples, Schnarch looks at the connection between feelings, thoughts and interpersonal dynamics and sexual problems. He explains and guides readers of all ages, personality types and sexual orientations through a number of common sexual-dissatisfaction issues and how to resolve them. Schnarch also discusses his model of human sexuality; how intimate relationships work, change and can be strengthened by resolving sexual problems, and medical options for improving sexual performance and the drugs that interfere with satisfying sex.
Whether a reader’s sexual difficulties are new or old, not too severe or seemingly hopeless, Schnarch’s book should provide hope and ideas to help sufferers escape from their sexual quagmire.
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And Thou Shalt Honor: The Caregiver’s Companion. Advice and Inspiration to Help You Care for Your Aging Parents and Loved Ones
Edited by Beth Witrogen McLeod
Rodale, $24.95
Providing care for an aging, disabled or terminally ill parent, spouse or friend is a complex issue that affects millions of people, whether they’re prepared to deal with it or not. “And Thou Shalt Honor” was originally paired with a PBS special profiling a number of families committed to caring for a family member. The book alone, however, is an excellent resource for potential and current caregivers facing the physical, emotional and financial issues involved in caregiving.
In a clear, concise manner, with sidebars, phone numbers and Web sites highlighted in each chapter, the book includes checklists that assess the need for care; lists of free and low-cost services for caregivers or those who need care; chapters on building a support network and how family relationships are affected by this issue; easing the transition for the sick or elderly; managing finances; the legal aspects of caregiving; when and whether to move a loved one out of the home; how and when to involve doctors, nurses and social work professionals; caring for the bedridden; and the emotional challenges that come with caregiving.
The final chapter, on caring for the caregiver, discusses and offers advice on managing anger and burnout and maintaining healthy relationships with children and spouse when you are the caregiver. It also discusses how to juggle your work schedule and talk to the boss about balancing job and caregiving demands.
A comprehensive resource list covering the gamut of caregiving issues is in the back of the book. A companion Web site is useful as well: www.thoushalthonor.org lists almost 100,000 community resources, links to research, training and support materials and has online forums for sharing experiences and insights with others.
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“The Complete Medical Guide for the Family Caregiver” (LifeLine Press, $29.95), edited by Dr. Jeffrey West, is a more medically focused book for the caregiver and is intended to be an inclusive health resource. It contains advice on a wide range of diseases and conditions from experts in medicine, nursing, pharmacology and psychology as well as information on support groups and professionals throughout the nation for caregiving families.
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Though it shouldn’t take the place of a visit to the doctor in case of serious back problems, “The Total Back Book: A Complete Exercise Program for Long-Lasting Back Health” (HarperResource, $21.95), written by London physical therapist Jennifer Sutcliffe, is a handy, spiral-bound exercise tool designed to stand at eye level beside your exercise mat as you stretch and work the upper, middle and lower parts of the back (and abdominals).
Don’t have an exercise mat? No matter. With generous color photos that illustrate each stage of an exercise, the book first explains how the back functions, the different types of back pain and why they occur, and how you can prevent that pain from occurring or recurring with exercise, stretching and lifestyle changes.
After the technical explanations are a series of warm-up exercises and stretches, followed by the main section on back exercises–each with cautions and tips addressing particular health issues, fitness levels and lifestyles.
The purpose of each stretch and exercise is explained, as well as which muscles are affected and where you can do this exercise (sitting at your desk, for example). Easier versions of each exercise are shown for those who can’t yet do the main exercise.
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Book note: If the words “scientific research” bring to mind geeky-looking people with pocket protectors hunched over beakers in a small, fluorescent-lit laboratory, rethink the picture. Several fascinating, behind-the-scenes books look at the politics, egos, finances and scientific debate behind the Human Genome Project, the international and publicly funded effort to map and sequence human DNA.
“The Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics, and the Human Genome” has the distinction of author John Sulston, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine, who for seven years led the British team that worked on the HGP.
“The Gene Masters: How a New Breed of Scientific Entrepreneurs Raced for the Biggest Prize in Biology” (Times Books, $26), by Ingrid Wickelgren, also documents the motivations and fears of scientists involved in the project and the ongoing debate between those who wanted to make the HGP findings public and those who wanted to profit from this genetic information.
