The Myth of the Perfect Pregnancy

A historical exploration of the history of miscarriage and the development of the current childbearing culture in America, with its expectation of carefully planned, assiduously tended, and emotionally precious pregnancies.

A historian of health, reproduction, and parenting in America, Lara Freidenfelds is the author of The Modern Period: Menstruation in Twentieth-Century America. She holds a PhD in the history of science from Harvard University and blogs at nursingclio.org and larafreidenfelds.com. She and her family live in New Jersey.

Introduction
Chapter 1: Childbearing in Colonial America
Chapter 2: Planning the Baby: Fertility Control from Withdrawal to the Pill
Chapter 3: Bonding with the Baby: The Changing Meaning of Parenting
Chapter 4: Taking Care of the Baby: Prenatal Care at the Doctor's Office and Elsewhere
Chapter 5: Buying for the Baby: Marketing, Earlier and Earlier
Chapter 6: Imagining the Baby: Debating Abortion
Chapter 7: Seeing the Baby: The Ultrasound Ritual
Chapter 8: Detecting the Baby: The Home Pregnancy Test
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index