Brought to Bed

This classic work reveals how childbirth has changed from colonial times to the present, including a new preface that discusses writings on the subject over the past three decades.

Judith Walzer Leavitt is Rupple Bascom and Ruth Bleier Professor Emerita at the University of Wisconsin. She is the author of The Healthiest City: Milwaukee and the Politics of Health Reform, Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public's Health, and Make Room For Daddy: The Journey from the Waiting Room to the Delivery Room.

- Preface to 30th Anniversary Edition
- Introduction
- 1 "Under the Shadow of Maternity": Childbirth and Women's Lives in America
- 2 "Science" Enters the Birthing Room: The Impact of Physician Obstetrics
- 3 "Overcivilization and Maternity": Differences in Women's Childbirth Experiences
- 4 "Only a Woman Can Know": The Role of Gender in the Birthing Room
- 5 "The Greatest Blessing of This Age": Pain Relief in Obstetrics
- 6 Why Women Suffer So: Meddlesome Midwifery and Scrupulous Cleanliness
- 7 "Alone Among Strangers": Birth Moves to the Hospital
- 8 Decision-Making and the Process of Change
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Chronology of Events in Childbirth History
- Glossary of Medical Terms
- Index