Pediatrician Mark Sloan had a trial by fire introduction to childbirth. As a 24 year old resident whose only knowledge of birth came from the 20 minutes of reading he had crammed the night before the first day of his obstetrics rotation, he wasn't sure what to do with his first patient, who was well into labor.
"I killed time," he writes, "by rearranging the contents of my pockets, cleaning my stethescope, and, once I overcame my shyness, talking to the woman who was to produce the head I had been ordered to be on the lookout for."
He was so frightened of delivering the baby on his own that when the head did emerge he actually tried to push the baby back in.
Despite this introduction, Dr. Sloan became a pediatrician with a clear respect for childbirth and the instincts of the newborn. This is evident in his new bok, Birth Day: A Pediatrician Explores the Science, the History, and the Wonder of Childbirth.
In Birth Day Dr. Sloan presents a thorough history of childbirth, including several chapters on the history and politics of pain management. He writes about the history of birth attendance, and particular about fathers and birth. And he provides a 'guided tour' of the newborn baby and an explanation of babies' five senses in utero and at birth.
The sections on babies' instincts and the theory that human babies aren't quite ready to be born when they are reminded me of Our Babies, Ourselves (a favorite of mine), but told with a less anthropological and more historical eye.
There is not too much in Birth Day about breastfeeding, but Dr. Sloan does write about babies' instinct, and ability, to "self attach" in the first hours after birth, writing about how babies are drawn to the breast by the smell of secretions from the mother's breast which are similar to amniotic fluid.
Birth Day is written in a very informative and entertaining style. Dr. Sloan presents a lot of information in a way that conveys complexity but still remains accessible. I think you'll enjoy it.
I have five copies of Birth Day to give away. To enter the drawing, leave a comment below by September 24th. Winners will be randomly selected using random.org, and announced in the comments section of this post. U.S. addresses only, please.
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