I am currently reading the book "Birth" by Tina Cassidy. This books organized into mutliple pregnancy and birth stories, which are also alligned with their places in history and the evolution in which the processes grew. This book explores the deep reasons in why and how we are born and uses several aspects of the topic of birth and pregnancy to try and answer these big, almost unknown questions. To me, I wonder how birth was first discovered. How did people learn about babies being brought into the world? How was sex even discovered for that matter? These are questions that I undoubtly think about every now and then. Its one of those questions that you can only think and talk about, yet never never actually know the answer to.
This author is a woman and when I'm reading parts of her book, she seems like a pretty strong feminist. While I am a guy, when it comes to her arguments involving aspects of pregnancy and birth, I can't help but agree. For example, she mentions how women aren't treated too well during the process of birth. Looking back on history based on her evidence on the history and evolving of birth. I have to agree with her arguments. Women have to go through so much for the majority of a year. When thinking about it, it sucks that women have to go through hell during pregnancy and birth, although the beautiful, special moment of birth at the end is said to be worth it.
So far I have read some very interesting things in regards to birth within history that caught my attention. For instance, the many different types of ways people attempted to make birth less painful. There were many tries that including hot baths, cold baths, acupuncture, fruit diets, massages, the list goes on and on. It really shows how many tactics were tried in helping a woman be less stressed and feel less pain during birth, but they all camew out not too successful in the end. Another thing that I found interesting was that there was also a spritual aspect that was believed to be associated with pregnancy and birth. In past time, it was believed that birth was painful for the woman which was caused by evil sprits due to the womans previous crimes such as adultury. This assumption led to people believeing that if the woman experienced pain during the birth of her child, she was apart of past crimes.
This book seems to be taking a whole other approach ton the topics of pregnancy and birth, at least freom what I'm used to hearing. This book so far is a pretty interesting read and I look forward in learning alot more of the undisclosed secret history of pregnancy, birth, and life afterwards.
