I Shall Not Hate

I enjoyed I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish. I learned much about Palestinian/Israeli relations and also was inspired by Izzeldin's consistent, unfaltering kindness and hope-- even after three of his daughters are killed by Israeli fire.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua was a definite thumbs up. I live in a community with a large Asian population, but am a "western parent" according to Chua's description. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the reasons behind the way "Chinese parents" raise their children and the way a "Chinese parent" views "western parents". Chua's writing is crisp and to-the-point. The end of the book was a little anti-climactic-- I expected a judgement on which style of parenting was better-- but I appreciate how Chua didn't try to make conclusions about something she doesn't know the answer to (she pushed her children academically and musically, but then let up some when her 13 year-old rebelled).

The Vaccine Book

Curious about the phenomenon of delaying or withholding childhood vaccines, I checked out a copy of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Robert W. Sears, M.D., F.A.A.P. The book goes through each vaccine in a separate chapter clearly explaining the disease(s) the vaccine prevents, the ingredients in the vaccine, and side effects. It then goes on to to answer the question "Should You Give Your Baby X vaccine?" These sections make me nervous. Sears has slyly titled one subsection under this heading as "reasons some people choose not to get this vaccine". With this title he makes it so that he is not giving misinformation; he is just reiterating what parents have told him. But the reasons, coming from an authoritative doctor, can be easily interpreted as scientifically and medically valid. These sections are also riddled with a flippant disregard for the principle of herd immunity. In talking about parents' concerns about the MMR vaccine, Dr. Sears says, "I also warn them not to share their fears with their neighbors, because if too many people avoid the MMR, we'll likely see the diseases increase significantly" (p. 97). Who is Dr. Sears writing this book for? Are only a certain group of people to be the privileged ones to skip vaccines while others take risks to give them protection?

After reviewing each vaccine, Dr. Sears reviews the safety research, side effects, vaccine ingredients and their safety. A lot of the information he gives is reasonably straightforward. He gives the statistical risk of vaccine side effects as well as risks of the disease (though these numbers sometimes involve a lot of extrapolation, which I don't think everyone would do the same way) and discusses what these side effects are. He also devotes quite a bit of space to discussing the safety of vaccine ingredients, especially aluminum. The final sections discuss "Myths and Questions" about vaccines-- efficacy, how to relieve the pain of injection, etc. and a page-and-a-half on whether one has a "social responsibility" to vaccinate his/her kids (he concludes that parents have the right to decide what is best for their kids). The last sections of the book put forth an "alternative" vaccination schedule. And... at the very end of the book are the "resources", where, after writing a book that makes vaccines seem super-dangerous, Dr. Sears explains that the "vast majority" of articles in medical journals show that vaccines are "safe and effective".

All in all, I was disappointed with this book. I was looking forward to hearing good arguments about why I should delay or withhold vaccinating my children. I didn't find them. I'll continue to vaccinate according to the CDC schedule.

Misconceptions

Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood by Naomi Wolf was definitely a unique book. It was a strange, unorganized mix of the author's personal experience of pregnancy, birth, and mothering a young child and general information on these topics. The book had quite a negative tone, going into some depth on problems with maternity care in the U.S. The suggested solutions (which were few) were unrealistic and poorly thought out. I finished the book (meaning it wasn't awful), but it wasn't that great of a read.

Birth (and an adoption) books

I'm behind in posting. Being pregnant, I've been reading several birth-related books.

Get Me Out by Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D. was a short history of birth "from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank". It was entertaining, sassy, but did not go into much depth on any topic.









Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other by Scott Simon is a book about adoption. The author details his feelings and experience in adopting two children from China. This is interspersed with the stories of adopted adults that Simon knows or has interviewed. I enjoyed the book, but didn't feel glued to it.







Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent is one of those books I'll never forget. Peggy chronicles her journey from nursing student to a homebirth midwife practicing in Berkeley in the 1980s. The birth stories she retells are interesting, inspiring, sometimes funny, and sometimes scary. What struck me the most as I read the book, however, was the love and respect Peggy showed her clients. Her clientele ranged from hippie types to Christian Scientists and yet, in her writing, Peggy never showed any hint of disrespect or bias toward or against her clients' varying personal beliefs or birth wishes. Peggy also discussed her experiences of working as a midwife in a hospital setting (including setting up a hospital-based birthing center) and the abrupt end of her homebirth career (caused by a lawsuit that prompted her malpractice insurance carrier to refuse coverage). I felt for her and the way both homebirth and hospital midwifery lack an established and respected position in U.S. medical care. The book also made me think deeply about what I want in a birth provider. It helped me come to the (maybe obvious)understanding that it isn't where the birth happens (home or hospital) or even necessarily what type of provider (CPM, CNM, OB, etc.), but that the provider is, in addition to being medically competetent, someone who loves and respects me and whom I can trust.

And, last but not least, I've perused and skimmed the following books. I haven't read enough to offer much in the way of opinions or reflections, though I find the idea of birth art in Birthing from Within fascinating. I just might try it.

Seeking the Cure

Seeking the Cure: A History of Medicine in America by Ira Rutkow is another book I grabbed off the new books shelf at the library. At only 356 pages, it isn't really as much of a history as a series of chronologically ordered stories about American medical advancements and personalities, and the social and economic consequences. The author clearly explains in the introduction that the book is not comprehensive and that "the personalities and advances that are highlighted are the ones that struck me as most illustrative, important, or, occasionally, simply fascinating". And so it was. The book was well-written, engaging, and covered a broad spectrum of topics and people-- from smallpox inoculation in Colonial times to today's abundance of medical malpractice lawsuits. Definitely a fun read!

Surviving Your Doctors

I grabbed Surviving Your Doctors by Richard S. Klein, M.D. at random from the "New Books" section at the library. It is subtitled: Why the Medical System is Dangerous to Your Health and How to Get through it Alive. I expected a boring discussion of common-sense things you should do when visiting the doctor-- make sure lab samples have your name, make sure you get the correct medicine, ask questions, etc. The book had a lot of this, but also tons of stories of malpractice incidents (the author is a practicing physician that also reviews malpractice claims) and quite detailed medical information about common conditions. It was sloppily edited and the writing was sometimes too hokey (i.e. lame jokes or puns), but, if you're interested in medicine, it's a somewhat interesting read.