Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is a moving descriptive account of the pregnancy loss journeys of eight African American women living in eastern USA. . . .The author’s goals to describe and identify meaning among the participants’ lived experiences from pre-pregnancy to post-pregnancy loss were expertly achieved. The author elucidates the invisible, silent experiences and internal dialogue of African American women experiencing pregnancy loss. . . .This book has instructive value in the academic and practice settings. * Sociology of Health & Illness *
In Black Middle-Class Women and Pregnancy Loss, Lisa Paisley-Cleveland exposes another one of the many hidden injuries of racism: black women are twice as likely as their less well-off white counterparts to deliver babies who die before age one. The eight moving pregnancy stories importantly challenge the prevailing stereotyped explanations of Black Infant Mortality (BIM) as due to poverty and or ‘personal irresponsibility.’ Instead this short, well-researched, and highly readable book tellingly exposes how for years institutionalized racism and internalized oppression have worked their way through the lives of women simply trying to build a family. By increasing the public awareness about BIM, the words of Dr. Paisley-Cleveland and the women who opened their lives to her will advance needed change in the health care system and wider society. -- Miriam Abramovitz, Hunter College, CUNY and the CUNY Graduate Center
This is the first time that I have read a work about this subject matter that does not do the following, 1) place all the weight on the overarching social and health system institution or 2) place all the blame on the individual. The author effectively creates synergy between institutional and individual factors which creates a sense of hope, unlike other works that can create a sense of anxiety and hopelessness by making the problem seem too grand. -- Xenia Acquaye, American Cancer Society
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter 1: Early Stages Explored: Life Before and During Pregnancy Chapter 2: Issues and Outcomes of Prenatal Care: It is Complicated Chapter 3: Women’s Experience with Stress: Dangerous Burdens Chapter 4: Fathers and Pregnancy Involvement: A Role of a Lifetime Chapter 5: Precipitating Causes: Breaking Point Chapter 6: Reflections on Loss, Healing and Resiliency: Labor of Loss and Sorrow Chapter 7: Making Sense of it All: Expanded Observations Chapter 8: Lessons Learned Appendix A: Glossary of Terms Appendix B: Biographical Data Appendix C: Interview Guide Bibliography Index About the Author
