Reviews for Men and Maternity

The average rating for Men and Maternity based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-03-12 00:00:00 Louis Sussman An interesting but somewhat curious book, in both senses of the world. I had a sense of the author circling her subject, examining it from many different angles, pulling faces and sometimes giving it the evil eye. Early on she sets her cards on the table - the increasing involvement of men in maternity is problematic and does almost no-one (unless doctors) any favours. I particularly liked the way she probed into the darker corners of the issue - men and the relinquishment of their babies for adoption, domestic violence. It was a slim, academic volume but fairly readable - it is only dry in the sense of occasional humour. I did question some of the tone - I think it is pretty clear that Rosemary Mander does not like the NCT for example (and whilst I have been reading this book, there's been more evidence of that in the professional media), similarly Michel Odent. I'm not sure there should be a place for 'not liking' in a professional work, for all that I share her concerns. Elsewhere she scatters terms like 'highly respected' for reasons which don't seem appropriate in this context.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-08-30 00:00:00 Thomas Carner Probably closer to a 3.5/3.75 than a true full 4 stars. An intriguing look at the (increasing) role of men/masculinities and patriarchy in the realms of pregnancy, maternity, the labour room, and early parenthood. Mander addresses the men in the birthing process (namely, the father and the male practitioner) as well as some additional elements (i.e. the role of men in relinquishments, domestic violence). The analysis is nicely complemented by what sometimes feels like a literature review, and although I disagree with the author's implications in certain cases (i.e. while I agree that many aspects of "normal" pregnancy seem to becoming pathologised, I don't see medicalization as an entirely problematic construct), this feels like a fascinating overview of a topic that has not been touched upon as often as one might think. I do also feel, however, that there was a distinct lack of discussion of pregnancies that do present with complications.