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Book Cover
E-book
Author Lantos, John D., author

Title Preterm babies, fetal patients, and childbearing choices / John D. Lantos and Diane S. Lauderdale
Published Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2015]

Copies

Description 1 online resource (x, 215 pages)
Series Basic bioethics
Basic bioethics.
Contents Two narratives about pregnancy in the twentieth century -- Individual decisions : a 34 year-old pregnant woman at 36 weeks -- Stillbirth -- Late preterm birth -- Are there too many c-sections? -- Feminist critiques of obstetrics -- The debate about home birth -- Are c-sections good for women (and babies, too)? -- The fetus becomes a patient -- The pill (and delayed childbearing) -- The changing demography of childbearing -- Maternal age, multiple pregnancies, and preterm birth -- Maternal age and infertility -- Changing demographics and preterm birth rates -- Your fetus becomes a baby -- A defense of modern obstetrics -- Neonatal intensive care and infant mortality -- The evolution of prenatal care -- International comparisons -- The paradox of modern prenatal care -- Conclusions
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
Analysis PHILOSOPHY/Ethics & Bioethics
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Premature labor -- United States
Premature infants -- United States
Premature infants.
Prenatal care.
Childfree choice.
Premature Birth -- etiology
Infant Mortality -- trends
Infant, Premature
Obstetrics -- trends
Prenatal Care
Reproductive Behavior
MEDICAL -- Gynecology & Obstetrics.
MEDICAL -- Perinatology & Neonatology.
Prenatal care
Childfree choice
Premature infants
Premature labor
SUBJECT United States
Subject United States
Form Electronic book
Author Lauderdale, Diane S., 1955- author.
ISBN 9780262330800
0262330806