Forced Labor: Maternity Care in the United States provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of hospital child birth in the U.S. This book discusses and analyzes the features of maternity care that vary considerably from one hospital or service to another.
Organized into six chapters, this book begins with an overview of the basic stages in the care of the pregnant woman, including prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postpartum treatment for mother and child. This text then describes the major characters in the hospital that will usher the patient through her pregnancy, delivery, and recovery. Other chapters consider the structural and institutional sources of unsatisfactory experience of many patients in a prenatal clinic. The final chapter deals with the intensive study of childbirth context.
This book is a valuable resource for all women who will face pregnancy. Gynecologists, nurses, and clinicians will also find this book extremely useful.

Acknowledgments1 The Research Plan2 Cast of Characters3 Prenatal Care4 Dehumanization and Drama: Giving Birth in the Hospital5 The Postpartum Experience: Mother and Child6 Conclusion: How to Have a Baby and Be a Person TooA Personal PostscriptBibliographyGlossary