Arlena Bateman
T00554734
History 4259
Tracy Penny Light
Reading Log #3
January 29, 2018
Barbara Clow’s article, “’An Illness of Nine Month’s Duration’: Pregnancy and Thalidomide Use in Canada and the United States” focuses on the challenges that come with pregnancy, the terrible side effects that result from drugs such as thalidomide and the public scrutiny on pregnant women. The author opens with a firsthand account of the detrimental effect and toll it took on an expectant mother who took the drug unknowing of the deforming side effect this drug could have on the baby. The controversy that surrounded their decision to abort was paramount and largely discussed by the toll it took on them emotionally, socially and even economically. This article touches on the scrutiny that pregnant women faced whether taking supposedly safe medication or if having a sip of alcohol. The fear that is evoked leading up to labour which is discussed in “Gender Expectations: Natural Bodies and Natural Births in the New Midwifery in Canada” by Margaret McDonald and “Exercising Caution: The Production of Medical Knowledge about Physical Exertion during Pregnancy” by Shannon Jette. These three articles all shine light on the pre-notion of judgement pregnant women face, whether they take prescription drugs, exercise correctly to how they give birth. Clow gives examples of the stresses women face if they are having a child and are “unwed”[1] leading some women to take medication in order to “calm their nerves.[2]” Pregnant women also feel pressures the expectations of remaining “active, even tempered, and attractive.”[3] With the multiple challenges pregnant women face reiterates the reasoning as to why taking a drug that doctors reinforce is not something one would think twice about. As the author states, “Under pressure of all kinds, battling the unpleasant side effects of pregnancy, many of these women gladly accepted drugs that offered relief.”[4] The history of drugs is also discussed in this article and how society is constantly advancing which makes it challenging to advocate and regulate medications appropriately.
Shannon Jette’s article, “Exercising Caution: The Production of Medical Knowledge about Physical Exertion during Pregnancy” reviews people’s opinions on how much exercise is the “right” amount of exercise for pregnant women throughout the decades. From the “laid back”[5] approach of the ‘60’s to the pressures of fitness in the ‘80’s caused the guidelines of “appropriate behavior for pregnant women”[6] to change according to studies produced. Jette incorporates these credible sources throughout the article, including physicians, researches, and credible books to show the difficulty to discern what to believe or follow. The author states, “The key piece of evidence provided was to “listen to your body” – suggests that in the early to mid-1980s, the issue of exercise during pregnancy was about more than “what is safe.””[7] This article explores how the research influences societies views of what is safe for pregnant women to be doing, and how pregnant woman become scrutinized. The author brings to light the “power relations”[8] that have the specific recommendations for pregnant women. Everyone’s views vary which is reiterated throughout all three of the assigned readings for this week.
The article by Margaret MacDonald, “Gender Expectations: Natural Bodies and Natural Births in the New Midwifery in Canada” explores natural births, and how it’s defined with the advances in Midwifery. The author uses women’s experiences in the article to shows how different and varied each person’s views are on this topic. For example, “’it means drug free’; ‘it means no interventions’, ‘it means nonmedicalized, the opposite of a hospital birth.’”[9] Overall, some women have many complications which force them to take medication and others have an easy pregnancy that allows them to have their pregnancy at home and without medication. MacDonald focuses on the evolution and advances in midwifery, and the benefits on the pregnant woman to have choice, and as much control in the delivery. For example, “they do want to ensure that women feel safe and supported in their particular needs”[10] Similarly, to the other two articles this week, this one also incorporates women to “trust their gut feelings”[11] is very important in each aspect of life. Overall, there is no specific principles for “proper” natural births as everyone has their own opinion based on their culture and upbringing. As stated, “Individual meanings of what natural are derived more from the perspective of birthing women themselves rather than from any rigid criteria.”[12] This gives insight on how the article continues to reiterate each individuals view on pregnancy and birthing techniques.
Christopher A. Smith, David Wright, and Shawn Day’s article, “Distancing the Mad: Jarvis’s Law and the Spatial Distribution of Admissions to the Hamilton Lunatic Asylum in Canada, 1876-1902” reiterates and supports the significance that geographical location had on how the asylums were utilized. This author accumulated information of admissions of 4,000 patients to the Hamilton Lunatic Asylum.[13] The use of stats, graphs and topographic images showed evidence of the support that the asylums that were proximal were “utilized” more than the rural which supports Jarvis’ Law.[14] The geographical location of asylums has been a topic of debate among different scholars around the world which the author introduces at the beginning. It does provide an overall understanding of the significance that locations can have on admissions. Smith et al incorporates many charts and graphs to display the population of people admitted to the asylums including the duration of time people stayed. This article shines light on the location of the asylum in relation to the distance from the towns people were coming from, as well as the amount of people who were admitted to the asylum more than once. Table 1 gives a small chart which magnifies the growing rate of people being admitted to the asylum from 1871 to 1901. This shines light on the growth and expansion needed within these institutions in order to maintain care for all patients, which, most of the time was lacking.
Bibliography:
Clow, Barbara, “‘An Illness of Nine Months’ Duration’: Pregnancy and Thalidomide Use in Canada and the United States,” in Feldberg, Ladd-Taylor, Li and McPherson, Women, Health, and Nation, Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003: 45-66.
Jette, Shannon, “Exercising Caution: The Production of Medical Knowledge about Physical Exertion During Pregnancy,” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, 28, 2 (2011): 293 313.
MacDonald, Margaret, “Gender Expectations: Natural Bodies and Natural Birth in the New Midwifery in Canada,” Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 20, 2 (2006): 235-256.
Smith, Christopher A., David Wright, and Shawn Day, “Distancing the Mad: Jarvis’s Law and the Spatial Distribution of Admissions to the Hamilton Lunatic Asylum in Canada, 1876 1902,” Social Science and Medicine, 64 (2007): 2362-2377.
Endnotes:
[1] Margaret McDonald. “’An Illness of Nine Month’s Duration’: Pregnancy and Thalidomide Use in Canada and the United States” in Feldberg, Ladd-Taylor, Li and McPherson, Women, Health, and Nation, (Montreal McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003), 54
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid, 55.
[4] Ibid, 56.
[5] Shannon Jette. “Exercising Caution: The Production of Medical Knowledge about Physical Exertion during Pregnancy” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, 28, 2 (2011): 294.
[6] Ibid, 305.
[7] Ibid, 304.
[8] Ibid, 295.
[9] Margaret MacDonald, “Gender Expectations: Natural Bodies and Natural Births in the New Midwifery in Canada” Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 20, 2 (2006): 241.
[10] Ibid, 244.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid, 251.
[13] Christopher A. Smith, David Wright, and Shawn Day’s article, “Distancing the Mad: Jarvis’s Law and the Spatial Distribution of Admissions to the Hamilton Lunatic Asylum in Canada, 1876-1902” Social Science and Medicine, 64 (2007): 2362. https://ac.els-cdn.com/S0277953607000196/1-s2.0-S0277953607000196 main.pdf?_tid=a08e6c9c-0498-11e8-b853 00000aacb35f&acdnat=1517191601_2f9d22aa1425a18985c61d12d5aedeca.
[14] Ibid.
