Customer Reviews

Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book includes the most comprehensive description of what's wrong with the US maternity care system and what should be done about it that I've ever read. It's well organized, well referenced, and--considering the scope of the problem--even optimistic. Dr. Wagner used to work in maternal child health in the World Health Organization, and his wide experience of maternity care systems all over the world adds necessary perspective to the discussion about how women should give birth, who decides, and why one might want to consider about all this before having a baby, instead of afterward.


The chapter on the witch-hunt against US midwives is essential reading for anyone who cares about the status of women and babies. The chapter on the culture of medicine and how this is enforced is fascinating and horrifying.


The book is must reading for those who think that our country can't hope to put together a system that works better for mothers and babies--and waste less money while we're at it. It should be required for anyone in the field of maternity care: nurses, physicians, midwives, childbirth educators, doulas, policy makers, lawmakers, judges--the list goes on and on.

Truly a great achievement. I hope this book gets the reading it deserves.
If it does, I believe that people will make our lawmakers follow the recommendations that Wagner makes at the end of the book.

I just finished reading this wonderful book and could not wait to write a review for it. I am a registered nurse, certified in obstetrics and also a nurse midwife. I am currently practicing as an RN in Labor & Delivery in a hospital with doctors that believe all medical intervention is what will save the mother and the baby! I also teach childbirth education classes for this hospital, but I do not toe the company line! I tell it like it is and this book will be "required reading" for my classes!!
This book does an excellent job of describing what the medical establishment is really like. I especially liked the quote of the news journalist who stated (to paraphrase) "are you saying we can not trust our doctors to tell us the truth?" I have seen many, many times physicians who do not use informed consent and blatantly lie to patients. It is very frustrating to see women just accept advice from a physician because he is a physician!
Dr. Wagner is very forthright with the evidence and the book is easy for all to understand. If you are a pregnant woman, please get this book. It has information you need to know about, if you are planning on delivering in a hospital. The information in the book is backed up by a very thorough bibliography, so one can research the information considered for themselves.
The only thing I disagree with is part of Dr. Wagner's solution to the problem of maternal health care and the obstetric monopoly. I do not believe in a national health care system. I think anytime you involve the government it will only gum up the works more. I do believe in a grass roots effort ( as does he), as well as more midwife and maternal health groups working together. I think a couple well placed lawsuits aimed at restraint of trade against some hospitals and insurance plans with full media coverage will help to make the public aware of their lack of choice. There needs to be awareness by the public that they do not have all the choices presented to them. America was founded on compeitition. If a few well placed laws made midwives more accessible, I think American women would choose them for their attendants. It will be a long, uphill battle, but one that I believe, as does Dr. Wagner, can ultimately be won.
Thank you Dr. Wagner for saying what all of us have been thinking and working so hard for!!

This book has opened my eyes to many unknowns about obstetrical care in the US. I had a home birth and am very interested in these issues. The difference between midwifery care and OB care for low-risk women is immense (I've had both). The basic premise is that midwives should care for healthy, low-risk pregnancies and births with OBs acting as backups. Most other western countries use this model, which has healthier outcomes. (None of this applies for pregnancies with complications - although we need to be careful about how we determine if women are "high-risk")

One thing I have seen about this debate is that some people think that women who want natural, drug-free births want it just for the "experience". Some women have expressed "pressure" to do a natural birth and they resent this. What needs to be communicated - and Wagner does this in his book through citing many, many studies - is that natural births are HEALTHIER for women and babies. It's like complaining that people are pressuring you to lose weight if you are obese. It's just the right thing to aim for.

Wagner makes his cases with lots and lots of statistical backup. He points out that much of OB care is based on common practices instead of evidence. He doesn't make that mistake in his book! That's my only warning to readers - be ready for a lot of detailed studies.

Finally, Wagner proposes a solution to the problem. I am also working on trying to educate women about these issues with my website [...] and blog. If women understood that they are the consumers that need to start demanding better care, we might see change. The only problem is that most women think all these interventions mean they ARE getting the best care, but the statistics don't support that.

This book was an eye-opener for me and I was aware of many of the problems with the maternity system before I read it. It goes much deeper than I thought. Dr. Wagner presents a great evidence-based objective analysis of the problems with maternity care in the U.S. I chose a homebirth with my last child for some of the things he talked about- the lack of choice I had as to whether I could VBAC because I had 2 previous c-sections. For anyone who doubts his book- you have been blinded by mainstream hype. This book really is what goes on. I've seen it myself in many ways, and Dr. Wagner presents evidence to show that the system indeed is broken.

This book is a wake-up call to American women. The information contained in it is shocking. For any woman who has gone to the hospital, putting herself in the hands of the doctors, and walked away with a terrible birth experience, this book is important. For any woman, or partner of a mother to be this book will help you make informed choices about one of the most profound experiences of your life. After reading this book, and several others-including Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth-I choose to have a homebirth. Which was a beautiful, and empowering experience. Very different from my hospital experience. Well-written and scientifically based.

As a labor and delivery nurse and aspiring midwife, I can tell you that unfortunately, what Dr. Wagner discusses in this book is definitely occurring in hospitals. This book outlines with excellent sources why our country is such a mess with regards to maternity care. He explains how delivering in a hospital with an OB can actually end up being more harmful than safe for women with normal pregnancies. OB's have become so frightened of the small percentage of complications that can occur with normal labor that they have created interventions that interfere with the natural process and can actually cause other problems. The policies and procedures carried out in most hospitals are the least conducive to a normal delivery- beginning from the time the mother is strapped into bed to a monitor and ending with pushing on her back. Dr. Wagner points out that what is worse is that there is no scientific basis for many of the routine interventions that are carried out, and in fact, in many cases, scientific data that it is harmful. This book is a must read for everyone who cares about protecting pregnant women and their babies.

My only complaint is that at times the book is repetitive and disorganized. This however did not detract from the important information that is in it. I have been quoting it to everyone I know since I read it.

You want to know the inside story? Well here is an insider to tell you how and why it is the way it is. We are so lucky to have the truth. And a proponent of evidence-based care. Not liability-based; not fear-based.

I am a birth junkie: I admit it. If you are too, or even if this is your first foray into learning more about birth in the US, you'll find this book enlightening.
After giving birth the first time and suffering for years afterward because I felt so traumatized, I was determined to improve on the experience. It has taken a lot of work and research, but within our flawed system, it can be done. (Long story short: get a midwife, hire a doula, do your homework.)
This book is a great primer on how our current system works and what can be done to improve it--both in the big picture and by individuals.
This book is written by a doctor who knows his stuff: he dissects the system under which obstetricians work (whether they are aware of it or not) and demonstrates how very faulty research and belief systems about birth impact the experience of every woman who has a baby. What I admire about Dr. Wagner is that he isn't afraid to confront the inherent biases that exist today, and he can back up everything with solid facts.
Read this book! I may not agree with all of Dr. Marsden's suggested solutions, but the reader will take its primary lesson to heart: birth is a NORMAL PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESS and not a frightening medical crisis fraught with danger, despite overt efforts by the medical establishment to paint it as such.

I am a certified doula and attend homebirths and hospital births. I leave the hospital births often feeling sad, depressed and discouraged and worrying about the health of the mother and newborn. What I see happening to child-bearing women in hospitals is downright criminal, and Marsden Wagner exposes it all; this is not hype, I see it happening with almost every hospital birth; please, if you are considering birthing in a hospital, read this book, it is an eye-opening expose. And consider having a homebirth, it's very, very safe!

I hope all women of childbearing age read this book. Dr. Marsden Wagner is a rare breed: an obstetrician and perinatalogist who doesn't follow the current trend of medicalized birth.

What I found most appalling is the discussion of the use of Cytotec, as well as the "witch hunt" against midwives. Much of the other topics, such as obstetrician loyality to each other is not unique to this field, but sheds some light on why some of the good OB's keep quiet.

Dr. Wagner's suggestions to change the current system are right on, but as he points out are not likely to occur any time soon. But if you believe the rights of birthing women need to be returned to them this book will help inspire change.