The farmer and the obstetrician / Michel Odent.

  • Odent, Michel, 1930-
Date:
2002
  • Books

About this work

Description

"While interchanging ideas the farmer and the obstetrician realise to what extent they both manipulate the laws of nature. They analyse the striking similarities between the industrialisation of farming and the industrialisation of childbirth, which developed side by side during the twentieth century. In both cases an innovation was usually presented as the long-awaited solution to an old problem. For example the advent of powerful synthetic insecticides has overnight dramatically reduced costs and increased agricultural productivity." "Similarly, the advent of the modern safe technique of caesarean section offered serious new reasons to create gigantic obstetrical departments, so that all women could give birth close to operating rooms and specialised medical teams. But soon after the immediate enthusiastic reactions, a small number of sceptics expressed doubts and voiced fears concerning probable negative long-term consequences of the widespread use of novel little-tested attitudes or practices. Although repeated warnings went apparently unheeded, they motivated the development of alternative attitudes. Moveover they became the roots of organised movements involving increasing numbers of consumers." "At the turn of the century the history of industrialised farming suddenly speeded up. A collective global awareness was sparked by a series of disasters, particularly mad cow and foot-and-mouth diseases. In contrast, industrialised childbirth has not yet reached the same phase of its history."--Book jacket.

Publication/Creation

London : Free Association Books, 2002.

Physical description

xii, 159 pages ; 23 cm

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references (pages 139-151) and index.

Contents

1. The Last Straw -- 2. Major Preoccupations and Latest Spectacular Events -- 3. The Source and the Target -- 4. Similarities -- 5. Enthusiasm -- 6. Remember Them! -- 7. Natural Childbirth and Organic Farming Movements -- 8. Which Disaster are we Waiting for? -- 9. The Scientification of Love -- 10. Bees -- 11. Falling Asleep and Falling in Labour -- 12. Is the Participation of the Father at Birth Dangerous? -- 13. How Dangerous is a Camera? -- 14. Towards a Biodynamic Attitude to Childbirth -- 15. The Future of the Midwifery-Obstetrics Relationship -- 16. Having a Baby Before 2032 -- 17. Being a Midwife or an Obstetrician Before 2032 -- 18. Getting Out of the Cul-De-Sac.

Notes

Copy 1. Donor: Family of Sheila Kitzinger.

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores
    M26828

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Identifiers

ISBN

  • 9781853435652
  • 1853435651