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As more and more women are having children when they are over thirty, amniocentesis, is becoming a routine part of prenatal care. In this groundbreaking book, Barbara Katz Rothman shows how this simple procedure can alter the way we think about childbirth and parenthood, forcing us to confront agonizing dilemmas: What do you do if there is a "problem" with the fetus? What kind of support is available if you decide to bring up a handicapped child? How can you come to terms with the decision to terminate a wanted pregnancy? Drawing on the experience of over 120 women and a wealth of expert testimony, Rothman's important book is a must for anyone thinking of having a child.
About the author
Barbara Katz Rothman is professor of sociology at Baruch College and CUNY Graduate School. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. She has won the American Sociological Association's Jesse Barnard Award for distinguished contributions to the field, is president of Sociologists for Women in Society, and was a recent past president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems. She is the author of Recreating Motherhood, In Labor, and The Tentative Pregnancy, all available from Norton.
Summary
As more women over 30 are having children, amniocentesis is becoming a routine part of prenatal care. Here, Rothman draws on the experiences of over 120 women to show how this simple procedure can alter the way we think about childbirth and parenthood and force us to confront difficult dilemmas.
