Babies in the Cornfield
Stories of Maternal Health and Death from around the World
by
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Those of us who have a university education think we know what’s best for those who don’t. Thanks to well-meaning people from already-developed rich countries, health care reform is on the agenda everywhere, and should be. But who is writing that agenda? Most likely those same people who were taught inside Institutions of Higher Learning -- people who live light years from the only mud-slick road to the health post, where the doctor is out, the pharmacy does not exist, and the next bus to a city with a hospital leaves on Wednesday. It may seem like common sense to you and me to ask a person what she wants before we go about giving her what we think she needs. Leave it to the anthropologists, sociologists, and women birthing in cornfields to point out this obvious fact to us.
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About the Book
Babies in the Cornfield addresses how childbirth gives everyone meaning - including, unfortunately, people in positions of power who place their personal politics ahead of a woman's wishes or a baby's rights. Highly educated people think we know what's best for people who are not university educated - especially poor women, who sometimes would just rather birth their baby in a cornfield than be subjected to demeaning and dangerous treatment from "health care providers".
About the Author
A nurse since 1976 and midwife since 1992, Ann has been hired by organizations to live and work in more than 15 countries around the world – from the mountains of Nepal and Bolivia, to the jungles of Brazil and Indonesia, to the deserts of Ethiopia and western Mexico. She has been involved with the University of Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics as a master trainer in emergency obstetrics since 2001, and has been on editorial boards and evaluation committees since that time for many different international organizations. Ann lives in Chile with her partner, surrounded by mountains and friends and plenty of cornfields.