Get me out : a history of childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the sperm bank

The quest for healthier, pain free childbirth is one of the book's many storylines. Virtue and painful childbirth were so synonymous that in 1591 Scotland, Eufame Maclayne was burned at the stake for requesting pain relief while birthing twins. Only in the early 1900's did pain relief in childbirth become socially acceptable, reflecting a time when women discarded their corsets and danced without chaperones. Lithuanian immigrant Lane Bryant started the first line of maternity wear. "Twilight Sleep," became a fad in which upper class American women traveled to Germany to undergo birthing while knocked out by morphine and sedatives. Backlash begat the freebirthers movement, and later, Lamaze. Making And Having Babies--what It Takes To Get Pregnant, Stay Pregnant, And Deliver--has Mystified Women And Men For The Whole Of Human History. Over The Last One Hundred Years, Depending On The Latest Prevailing Advice, Women Have Taken Morphine, Practiced Lamaze, Relied On Ultrasound Images, Sampled Fertility Drugs, And Shopped At Sperm Banks. Here, The Insatiably Curious Randi Hutter Epstein Journeys Through History, Fads, And Fables, And To The Fringe Of Science, Where Audacious Researchers Have Gone To Extreme Measures To Get Healthy Babies Out Of Mothers. The Result Is An Entertaining And Enlightening Celebration Of Human Life.--from Publisher Description. Eve's Doing : Birth From Antiquity Through The Middle Ages -- Men With Tools : Forceps Use From 1600s To 1800s -- Slave Women's Contribution To Gynecology -- Dying To Give Birth : Maternal Mortality Into The Twentieth Century -- Leaving Home : New York's Lying-in And The Growth Of Maternity Wards -- Birth Is But A Sleep And Forgetting -- What Was She Thinking? : Freud Meets Fertility -- It's Only Natural -- Toxic Advice And A Deadly Drug : Des -- From Kitchen-table Surgery To The Art Of The C-section -- Freebirthers -- Womb With A View -- Sperm Shopping -- The Big Chill Randi Hutter Epstein. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 283-302). From a witty, relentlessly inquisitive medical writer, an eye-opening history of pregnancy and birthing joys and debacles. Making and having babieswhat it takes to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and deliverhas mystified women and men for the whole of human history. The birth gurus of ancient times told newlyweds that simultaneous orgasms were necessary for conception and that during pregnancy a woman should drink red wine but not too much and have sex but not too frequently. Over the last one hundred years, depending on the latest prevailing advice, women have taken morphine, practiced Lamaze, relied on ultrasound images, sampled fertility drugs, and shopped at sperm banks. In Get Me Out , the insatiably curious Randi Hutter Epstein journeys through history, fads, and fables, and to the fringe of science, where audacious researchers have gone to extreme measures to get healthy babies out of mothers. Here is an entertaining must-readand an enlightening celebration of human life. 22 illustrations

"[An] engrossing survey of the history of childbirth."—Stephen Lowman, Washington Post

The Washington Post - Stephen Lowman

Randi Hutter Epstein is here to tell us in Get Me Out, her engrossing survey of the history of childbirth, that even with all of today's whiz-bang technology, "We are still in the dark about so many things that go into making babies." Writing that pregnancy has always been "a wonderful blend of custom and science," Epstein takes us on a delightful romp through past guides that are filled with a whole lot of do-this-but-avoid-that advice. "You've got to be kidding me" will be the reaction to most of it.

Af forlagets omtale: Making and having babies - what it takes to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and deliver - has mystified women and men for the whole of human history. Over the last one hundred years, depending on the latest prevailing advice, women have taken morphine, practiced Lamaze, relied on ultrasound images, sampled fertility drugs, and shopped at sperm banks. Here, the insatiably curious Randi Hutter Epstein journeys through history, fads, and fables, and to the fringe of science, where audacious researchers have gone to extreme measures to get healthy babies out of mothers. The result is an entertaining and enlightening celebration of human life "[An] engrossing survey of the history of childbirth." —Stephen Lowman, Washington Post Making and having babies—what it takes to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and deliver—have mystified women and men throughout human history. The insatiably curious Randi Hutter Epstein journeys through history, fads, and fables, and to the fringe of science. Here is an entertaining must-read—an enlightening celebration of human life. "Making and having babies—what it takes to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and deliver—have mystified women and men throughout human history. The insatiably curious Randi Hutter Epstein journeys through history, fads, and fables, and to the fringe of science. Here is an entertaining must-read—an enlightening celebration of human life." *From the publisher.* Explores the history, fads, and fables of conception and birth, discussing how the process of bringing healthy babies into the world has changed from ancient to modern times