Born in the USA - Book Report/Review Example

?Response Essay: "Born in the USA" Introduction Each person has right to live and this is most crucial at the point where a woman carries two lives; both of which she must defend – the life of her own and that of her expecting child. Unfortunately though, the health system in the United States with specific emphasis on maternal healthcare does not seem to take this important ideology into consideration. It is sad to read the news to note the number of lives that are lost as a result of childbirth. The situation is so sadden that in some cases, two lives are lost at the point of maternal delivery: be it the life of the mother and that of the child. The major question would thus remain as to whether or not the trend would have to continue and if not, the measures that can be taken to control the trend. Indeed, it is high time America as a nation came to realize that terrorists come in many different forms and each of these need to be combated against in all sense. If some health practitioners have made themselves terrorists who are taking the lives of precious Americans away; making it so bad that the writer, Marsden (2006) would refer to it as a broken system, then the time to act is now! New Knowledge Judging America from a perspective where it is seen as a global economic giant and the hallmark of global development and advancement, it is expected that lapses associated with some of the very basic provisions of health such as quality healthcare delivery would be catered for in a long while. This was indeed a conception I held long before my encounter with this book. I often heard about deaths among expectant mothers and that of infants. There were also reports of stillbirths and maternal deaths but hardly did I associate them with poor healthcare practices by healthcare providers and professional. I never assumed so because I thought they practiced professionally and competently. This book has however revealed that there are a number of lapses that has lived with the profession for a long time. What is worrying to note is that most of these acts of negligence and poor practices occur because of the habit of putting round pegs in square holes that exists at the professional selection level. To this, the writer states that whether driven by the need for power, admiration of peers, or feeling of self importance, the people at the top in organized obstetrics in the United States have gotten there by convincing others that they are the best able to protect and promote the obstetrics monopoly (Marsden, 2006, p. 20, 21). Prior Knowledge Before reading the book, I had a very fair idea that in the United States, home birth is largely acceptable and allowed in instances where it can be proofed to be safe. As a matter of fact, with all prenatal guidelines and directions followed, it is highly anticipated that home birth could be safe for both the mother and the child. The book emphasizes with point with further information on how important it is that even if childbirth will take place at home, it is important to ensure the presence and authorization of a trained midwife. In this end, the writer makes a quote that “there is no law against home birth in Nevada and no scientific data proving home birth to be dangerous” (Marsden, 2006, p. 116). But as modern trends of protection for human live continues, it would only be appropriate that even though home birth would not be condemned in its entirety, provisions will be made under the healthcare provisions of the country to ensure that as much as possible, all expectant mothers deliver at a health facility. This could be achieved by creating a section in the health insurance service where expectant mothers will be mandated to be on admission; perhaps five days to their expected dates. This could go a long way to guarantee safe and healthy delivery especially, should any emergencies arise. Reaction to the book as a whole I hold a very strong opinion that the book has set out a case that should not end now. If America as a country wants to proof beyond doubt that it really cherishes the lives of its citizens and that it would do everything possible to protect the lives of all her citizens around the world, then the discoveries made in the books should be taken as an ideal bait for arresting the continuing incidences of high maternal and mortality deaths. The views and assertions put forth in the book are therefore highly welcome in my opinion and should set the pace for further scrutiny. With all these realizations that have been made, it is important that a very effective and well resourced quality assurance system will be established in the maternal health sector of the overall healthcare sector of the economy. This quality assurance system should be made up of third party professionals who would ensure that there are investigative and forensic assessments of all forms of health delivery given to an expectant mother. Findings of this body should also be backed by authorization to sanction defaulters so as to serve as deterrent to all other professionals. Further Recommendations As an individual who advocates for the protection of human lives at all levels of our healthcare delivery, I shall strongly recommend this book to other people. This is because it will expose the reader to the major lapses in the maternal system in the United States of America and the need to proactively stand against some of the worse forms of health delivery practices that take place behind the scenes. There is no denying the fact that it is when people read this book to come to terms with some of the horrible things that are happening in the maternal system that they would understand the justification of prosecuting defaulting professional and use all other forms of anti-precautionary principles to demand justice for as the writer notes, “using the anti-precautionary principle means that when a new technology is being proposed, it must be permitted unless it can be showed beyond reasonable doubt that it is dangerous” (Marsden, 2006, p. 88) Conclusion Indeed, this essay has been an eye opener to some of the appalling practices in the maternal health system in the United States of America. But the fact that there has been the courage to bring out some of these behind the scence information means that there are citizens who are truly dedicated to the course of ensuring the promotion of quality health care delivery in the country. As stated in the essay, there remains a long way to go especially in the assurance of quality healthcare to all expectant mothers. The recommendation to have a quality assurance system in place in all health facilities in the country should therefore be taken seriously. Finally, the advocacy for the use of modern technology in ensuring quality healthcare practices must be adhered to as well as the need to create a system that will monitor pregnant women especially when they are at the closest points to delivery. All of these must be instituted because America can indeed not afford one more death of a precious soul of a mother or child at the maternity ward. CITED WORKS Wagner, Marsden. Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Mothers and Infants First. Berkeley: University of California, 2006. Print. Read More