History Of Childbirth

GUESTS: Dorothy Wertz Author, Lying-In: A History of Childbirth in America [Yale Univ. Press, 1989] Senior Scientist, Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center in the Social Science, Ethics and Law Department Adjunct Research Professor of Public Heath, Boston University Robbie Davis-Floyd Research Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas Author, Birth as an American Rite of Passage [University of California Press, 1992] Co-editor, Childbirth & Authoritative Knowledge: Cross-Cultural Perspectives University CA Press, 1997] Ask Americans to conjure up a modern image of childbirth and most envision a fully staffed hospital room, swarming with doctors, and filled with fetal monitors and anesthesia. But until the 20th century, women gave birth at home, attended by a midwife and family members. Join Ray Suarez and guests for a look at the history of childbirth.