Overview
Examines the unique profile of preterm births in the U.S. compared to other developed nations?
Integrates insights from sociology and anthropology into contemporary understandings of preterm birth in clinical medicine and epidemiology
Shows how beliefs about pregnancy and the organization of the U.S. medical system influence the preterm birth rate and survival rates for preterm babies?
Places the ethical dilemmas concerning preterm birth in the U.S. in cultural perspective
Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This first-of-its-kind volume addresses the myriad of issues relating to—and reviews the plethora of responses to--premature births in the United States, both in national context and compared with other countries. In addition to current clinical data, it examines how preterm births in the U.S. fit in with larger social concerns regarding poverty, racial disparities, reproductive rights, gender expectations, and the business of health care. Comparisons with preterm birth phenomena in Canada, the U.K., and other Western European countries illustrate cultural narratives about motherhood, women’s status, differences across social welfare and abortion policies , and across health care financing and delivery sytems, and how these may affect outcomes for newborns. The book sorts out these intersecting complexities through the following critical lenses:
· Clinical: causes, treatments, and outcomes of preterm birth
· Population: the distribution of preterm births· Cultural: how we understand preterm birth
· Health care: delivering care for high-risk pregnant women and preterm infants
· Ethical: moral decision-making about preterm births
Preterm Birth in the United States synthesizes a wide knowledge base for maternal and child health professionals across diverse disciplines, including public health, social work, nursing, medicine, and health policy. Social scientists with interests in reproduction and gender issues will gain access to historical, clinical and epidemiological knowledge that can support their work. There is also an audience for the book among childbirth activists such as supporters of midwifery and less medicalized childbirth.Reviews
“Preterm Birth in the United States is an intricate and comprehensive exploration of the persistently high infant mortality rate in the United States, to which preterm birth is a major contributor. … Preterm Birth in the United States should be required reading for students of medicine, nursing, and public health. It would work well as a core text in medical anthropology and comparative health systems courses, especially as a counterpoint to more ethnographic texts.” (Sarah E. Rubin, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, June, 2017)
“This book reviews the various issues, demographic, ethnographic, medical and social aspects of premature births in the USA compared to other countries in the Western world. An in-depth study, analyzing also the present health services with a look into prevention. For obstetricians and neonatologists and child health professionals.” (Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews (PER), Vol. 14 (2), December, 2016) “Repronetwork would also like to recognize Preterm Birth in the United States: A Sociocultural Approach, by Janet M. Bronstein, with an honorable mention. Preterm Birth in the United States is an encyclopedic and insightful treatment of an important topic, and will serve as an invaluable reference for all of those across the sciences, social sciences, and policy who work on this issue.” (Lara Freidenfelds, Ph.D., Adele E. Clarke Book Award Committee Chair, October 2017)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Preterm Birth in the United States
Book Subtitle: A Sociocultural Approach
Authors: Janet M. Bronstein
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32715-0
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Medicine, Medicine (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-32713-6Published: 09 August 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-81352-3Published: 07 June 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-32715-0Published: 28 July 2016
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXIV, 337
Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations
Topics: Maternal and Child Health, Pediatrics, Demography, Obstetrics/Perinatology/Midwifery, Sociology, general