Birth Rites and Rights

Fatemeh Ebtehaj is associate member of the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge. Jonathan Herring is a Professor of Law at Oxford University and a Fellow of Exeter College. Martin Johnson is Professor of Reproductive Sciences in the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Christ's College.Martin Richards is Emeritus Professor of Family Research at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge.

• MARTIN RICHARDSPart 1: Experiences and Rites of Birth 1 Becoming a Mother: Continuities and Discontinuities over Three DecadesANN OAKLEY, MEG WIGGINS, VICKI STRANGE, MARY SAWTELL AND HELEN AUSTERBERRY2 Changing Medical Birth Rites in Britain 1970-2010 FRANÇOISE BARBIRA FREEDMAN3 Are Doctors Still Improving Childbirth? SUSAN BEWLEY AND LIN FOO4 The Midwife-Mother Relationship MAVIS KIRKHAMPart 2: Status and Consequences of Birth 5 The Loneliness of Status: The Legal and Moral Significance of Birth JONATHAN HERRING6 Refusing Medical Treatment During Pregnancy and Birth: Ethical and Legal IssuesROSAMUND SCOTT7 The Consequences for Preterm Infants of Antenatal Glucocorticoid TreatmentALISON FORHEAD AND ABIGAIL FOWDEN8 Fathers, Birth and Law RICHARD COLLIERPart 3: After Birth 9 Recording Births: From the Reformation to the Welfare Reform Act REBECCA PROBERT10 The Changing Form of Birth Registration JULIE MCCANDLESS11 Birthright had Nothing to do with It; Royal Inheritance in the Middle AgesFRANCIS WOODMAN12 Infanticide and Insanity in 19th Century England SHELLEY DAY SCLATERPart 4: Timing of Birth13 Explaining the Trend towards Older First Time Mothers – A Life Course PerspectiveIRENEE DALY14 Too Late or Too Many – Dilemmas Facing the Modern Woman Seeking Help with FertilityPETER BRAUDE AND TAREK EL-TOUKHY15 IVF Birth Data Presentation: Its Impact on Clinical Practice and Patient ChoiceEMILY JACKSON AND HOSSAM ABDALLA

Birth Rites and Rights contains a mixture of empirical and theoretical chapters, drawing on a range of disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, gender studies, (medical) sociology, law, and history. On the whole this is a strength of the book...each author refers to points or arguments made in other chapters which generates a dialogue between the authors, and creates a sense of cohesion around the book, The book offers something for everyone, and is particularly useful for sociology and medical students.