Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America

by Irin Carmon

“A gripping revelatory, horrifying, infuriating, sometimes inspirational, always informative….Required reading.” —The Boston Globe

From the award-winning New York magazine reporter and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Notorious RBG, an ambitious and passionate exploration of what’s gone wrong with pregnancy in America, through the lens of history, politics, and the searing experiences of five women.

Journalist Irin Carmon was eight months pregnant when the Supreme Court allowed states to ban abortion, unleashing pain and suffering for those who didn’t want to be pregnant and, shockingly to some, those who did. What was clear to Carmon from her dozen years of reporting—and from what she felt in her bones—was how incomplete the American story of reproduction had been, and how much had been unexpressed, hidden, or taken for granted, and not just by conservative justices or in red states. Whether in cosmopolitan, liberal New York City or rural Alabama, the entire system is broken.

Unbearable tells a deeper story, going beyond the headlines and any one experience or choice, and grounded in history and journalism. It introduces us to five women navigating pregnancy care—from that first positive pregnancy test through joy, loss, and the unforeseen—in a country that is at best indifferent and at worst willfully cruel, and to brave, outnumbered people fighting to make it better. Written with deep empathy and analytical rigor, Unbearable is at once a moving story of interconnection, a harrowing exposé, and assertion of humanity. Above all, it is a powerful call for solidarity, regardless of our circumstances or our decisions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Womens, Politics, Audiobook, Social Justice, Social Issues

Audible Audio

First published October 28, 2025

About the author

Irin Carmon is an Israeli-American journalist and commentator. She is a national reporter at MSNBC, covering women, politics, and culture for the website and on air. She is a Visiting Fellow in the Program for the Study of Reproductive Justice at Yale Law School.

In 2011, she was named one of Forbes' "30 under 30" in media and featured in New York Magazine as a face of young feminism. She received the November 2011 Sidney award from The Sidney Hillman Foundation recognizing her reporting on the Mississippi Personhood Initiative for Salon. Mediaite named her among four in its award for Best TV pundit of 2014.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Important book about the life-threatening dangers pregnant women face in the United States of America. Intelligent, thoughtful connections drawn between the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe V. Wade in 2022 and the trials and tribulations pregnant people go through. Irin Carmon does a nice job of incorporating the voices and perspectives of several pregnant women in her book. She pays attention to intersectionality and the health disparities and risks that Black women in particular experience in regard to pregnancy and mortality.

The primary reason I rate this book a little lower is that stylistically, sometimes Carmon’s blend of history and analysis with the perspectives of the five women interviewed didn’t always feel super smooth. Great and smart information included throughout the book though on a writing level I think I’ve seen other nonfiction books with this setup execute it a bit more effectively. Still, a timely book about an unfortunately highly relevant topic.

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was raised in a very conservative household, and we never spoke about politics. I didn’t start to become “woke” until fall 2016, for pretty obvious reasons. It was then that I started to look more closely at the black and white beliefs I held. It was then that I started to realize that something in one of our major political parties was rotting and had been for quite some time. This book helped me to see, even more clearly, how pregnant women are treated in the United States. And it’s even worse than I had imagined. All women are affected, but the color of your skin comes into play in a big, big way.

You will be horrified.

You will cry.

You will rage.

Want to rage some more? Go look up J. Marion Sims. No, like, *really* go in-depth on his professional life. You may find a statue in Alabama that needs some…adjustments made to it.

Also, if you know a midwife and have held some negative opinions of them in the past? Go and beg her forgiveness. I know one I need to apologize to.

This book is EXTREMELY important to read, especially since Roe v. Wade was overturned, but it’s even more important, given that women in the U.S are seeing their reproductive rights being stripped away in real time. How long do you think it will be until contraception is banned? Think I’m being alarmist? Go look up Project 2025, which is close to 50% completed as of this writing (10/27/25).

They’ll try it.

The only question is, will we let them?



Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/One Signal Publishers for an eARC in exchange for my honest feedback. Thank you also to the author, who spent years of her time to make sure that this book saw the light of day.

[Tanja Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of the book, read by the author, slack jawed and with my pulse racing in fury. I knew that being a woman in the United States in this political climate is bad. I just didn’t know how bad, and how much worse it’s made if you are pregnant.

Despite knowing that law makers in Tennessee want the death penalty for abortions, it still took this book for me to fully understand that in the United the fetus has the same level of rights as the woman carrying it. For me, and coming from the ethics of Peter Singer, an actual person always carries more value than a potential person. A grown woman also has more value than a new born. A new born cannot survive independently. It brings no value to society in its own right, only through the potential people see in it.

In the United States today, in many states, an embryo has the rights of a person. It is not the same. You can freeze an embryo to no ill effects, but treat a toddler the same way and it will die.

Pregnancy women in the United States are considered vessels for their unborn children. Their rights and wishes are ignored and belittled. If you are having an ectopic pregnancy or are miscarrying you risk dying and infection because that fetal heartbeat will be put before your right to live.

It’s s so fucked up that I have no words.

It’s a confirmation of the fact that women have always been seen as less than fully human. Rubbed in with salt.

The United States has the highest rate of babies and women dying during delivery. The system only cares about babies until they are born, pro birth but not pro life as such.

Women who fail drug tests during pregnancy — that they in many states are not allowed to abort — are jailed. Their babies taken from them.

It’s so fucked up my words fail.

Read the book. It tells the story from many angles and is also deeply personal as the author had her second child while writing the book.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely heartbreaking.

This book takes an extremely personal look at the experiences of 5 people, and their families, navigating the reproductive hellscape that is the US maternal healthcare system. It looks at the history and systemic policy, the laws, the funding or lack thereof, the insurance patchworks and marketplace, the hospitals that compete with specialized clinics, even while overworked, overstretched, and under supported. It really is a complete nightmare of a situation that only benefits special interests and the powerful - usually in the form of white men.

Irin Carmon has given a name to a few of the stories that advocates for reproductive freedom and choice have been screaming about for years. She reminds us that statistics tell one story, but the humanity is what matters - and these people, whether they want to be pregnant or not, ARE real people. These laws and policies of control and legislation do not only impact the singular pregnant body being controlled or legislated - they impact LIVES. The living life of the person who is pregnant, their partners, their children, their communities. Every loss - whether that’s through punitive incarceration or child-birth mortality ripples out and affects us all. And the cost is huge.

Every one of us is, or knows, someone who may become, want to be, or has been pregnant. Irin Carmon says at the end of her book that we all want to think that these kind of stories could not happen to us, but they can. They happen every day.

[Dea · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There is no way to recognize embryos or fetuses as separate persons without subtracting women from the community of constitutional persons."

Irin Carmon's "Unbearable" is a fascinating deep dive into what it means to be pregnant in America. The CDC in 2023 reported that 1 in 5 women reported mistreatment during birth . Carmon focuses on stories from five women located in New York and Alabama, two locations with starkly different laws and perspectives on women's rights during childbearing years. The stories span wide-ranging topics, from trying to get pregnant to trying to give birth safely, to a doctor trying to open new doors for women in need, and even a story of incarceration following birth.

Carmon elucidates how difficult it is to disentangle the concept of "fetal outcomes" from "maternal outcomes" and how black-and-white laws against abortion and "chemical endangerment" (which can include failing a drug or alcohol screener even before knowing you're pregnant) create an arbitrary line in the sand.

The book also includes a fascinating overview of the history of midwifery and how drastically birth outcomes took a turn when doctors took the reins, even when the situation didn't call for it. The background of how Sims changed the face of OBGYN care today through the abuse of slaves is honestly startling and not something I was aware of at all.

Regardless of whether one prefers a midwife or an OB, Carmon discusses the topic of maternity care deserts in rural areas, which contribute to limited resources and inadequate care for people in need. This topic is extremely timely, because even though Carmon describes it as primarily a rural area problem, since the new laws for maternal care have passed, more regions than ever have been slowly turning into maternity care deserts as medical professionals switch fields due to not being allowed to practice as they see fit.

The information is well-researched, and the women's stories are shocking and eye-opening. Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

"Privilege could insulate you from a lot, but pregnancy has a way of humbling everyone."

[Mai H.]

Non-fiction November TBR

Women's History Month TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/One Signal Publishers

[Robert Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Distance Between Law and Lived Reality

I picked up Unbearable as part of Goodreads Women’s Month reading challenge, expecting something informative and relevant. It certainly delivers on both of those expectations. The subject itself carries a sense of urgency, especially given the increasing role that politics plays in shaping reproductive rights in the United States. This is not simply a discussion of policy or legal frameworks. Instead, it focuses on autonomy and the extent to which individuals are able to make decisions about their own bodies. That focus makes the book feel immediate and, at times, unsettling in how directly these issues affect people’s lives. It is difficult to engage with this topic without recognizing its broader social and political implications.

One of the strongest aspects of the book is its accessibility despite the depth of research behind it. There is a significant amount of information presented, yet it does not feel overwhelming or overly technical. The writing remains clear, allowing complex legal and political developments to be understood without requiring specialized knowledge. More importantly, the inclusion of personal stories strengthens the overall impact. These accounts, particularly from individuals directly affected as well as medical providers, shift the discussion from abstract debate to lived experience. As a result, the reader is able to see how policy decisions translate into real consequences. This grounding in human experience is what gives the book much of its weight.

At the same time, the structure of the book does not always support its aims. The narrative follows multiple individuals across different locations, primarily in New York and Alabama, yet these stories begin to overlap in a way that reduces their clarity. Rather than deepening each perspective, the transitions between them can feel abrupt, which makes it more difficult to remain fully engaged with any one narrative. There are moments where the stories seem to merge, and the distinctions between experiences become less clear than they should be. This creates a sense that some of the individuals do not receive the depth of attention they deserve. A more focused approach might have allowed each story to develop more fully and leave a stronger impression.

A similar issue appears in the discussion of midwives. The book repeatedly emphasizes their importance and suggests that they contribute to better outcomes in childbirth. While this is clearly intended to be a significant point, it is never fully explained. The reader is left without a clear understanding of what midwives actually do, how their role differs from other medical professionals, or why they are presented as being more effective. This lack of explanation makes the repeated references feel incomplete. Over time, the emphasis begins to feel more like repetition than analysis. With more detailed exploration, this could have been one of the more insightful aspects of the book.

What remains most impactful is the tension between law and lived experience that runs throughout the text. Legal decisions are often presented as distant or abstract, yet this book demonstrates how directly they shape individual lives. The gap between what is written in policy and what is experienced in reality becomes increasingly clear. This tension reinforces the idea that questions of autonomy are not theoretical but deeply personal. It also highlights the broader consequences of political decision-making, extending beyond individual cases to wider societal effects. In this respect, the book succeeds in conveying the stakes of the issue.

Overall, this is an insightful and important read, even if it does not fully achieve balance in its structure and depth. It raises necessary questions and brings attention to issues that are often overlooked or simplified. At the same time, there are areas where greater clarity and more sustained analysis would have strengthened its impact. Despite these limitations, it remains a worthwhile book, particularly for readers interested in the intersection of law, politics, and personal autonomy.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The topic of pregnancy and female medical care is one I find deeply personal and also interesting so I was excited to read the advanced copy of this book.

It took me a while to get through because I had to take breaks when the content got to be too heavy for me. It is hard to read about injustice and this book has many examples of how unfair our health care system is in America. I really liked the intersection of facts and stories of real women in this book. It was compelling and presented in an easy to digest way. I appreciate all the research that went into this book. I found the portions on the history of midwifery particularly interesting.

This book is powerful. Reading about the five different women with every different stories was very impactful and this is not a book I will forget anytime soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Infuriating reality we live in. Amazing reporting.

[Hannah Chaussee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow 😮 this is a must read for anyone who has strong opinions on abortion and/or women’s healthcare

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbearable by Irin Carmon is a shocking book. I kept reading about what the pregnant women followed in her reporting endured at the hands of our healthcare and justice systems, thinking surely Carmon must be mistaken. Surely this couldn’t be happening in America?

Carmon is clear in stating that not all pregnant women experience the tragic health outcomes or nonsensical incarcerations shared in this book. She simply forces us to reckon with the fact that far too many women do. The counter narrative she offers of patient-centered care proves that another experience is available for those pregnant women lucky enough to access it.
What is so heartbreaking is that even women who knew those options existed often failed to access them despite their best efforts. I hope Carmon’s book empowers all pregnant women and those who love them to advocate for themselves as though their lives depend on it.

[Rae Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irin Carmon’s *Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America* is a powerful, meticulously reported examination of the American pregnancy experience through the lives of five very different women. Combining history, policy analysis, and deeply personal narratives, Carmon explores the gaps and failures of a system that too often offers inadequate care, stigma, and trauma—regardless of political stance or geography. What begins as a patient’s journey blossoms into a broader critique of institutional neglect—from obstetric deserts to restrictive laws—imbued with empathy and urgency. Unflinching yet compassionate, *Unbearable* shines a light on what’s at stake for those who become pregnant in a country that claims autonomy but often withholds essential support. compelling call for systemic change, solidarity, and a renewed commitment to the humanity of pregnancy.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and well-researched book. I enjoyed following the perspective’s of five different women whose reactions to their pregnancies and what happened was so different. However, as someone from Alabama, this book turned into the ultimate of depressing, scary, and infuriating reads. I’d buy a copy for every member of the legislature and Governor Ivey, but they’ve already demonstrated their lack of an open mind. As much as I hate it, I’d read this before risking pregnancy here!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Atria Books for choosing me.

This book was written with grace, empathy and respect. It was extremely eye-opening and one that I will be thinking about for years to come. I personally think everyone should read this book, because no matter who you are you will take something away from it.

[Anika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this twice in two weeks. As soon as I finished the audiobook version, I knew I had to get my hands on a physical copy. The second reading demanded that I underline sentences, paragraphs, and sometimes nearly full pages. Carmon combines the intimate personal narratives of five women navigating pregnancy in modern, post-Roe America with research into the history of obstetrics and the legislation and criminalization of pregnant (and, ugh, pre-pregnant) bodies. This book exposes how the political and personal can intersect to devastating effect when it comes to fertility, abortion, and pregnancy. Maggie, Hali, Christine, Alison, and Yoshica's lived experiences serve to illuminate specific ways the legal and medical systems can and do fail individuals across the country, from rural Alabama to New York City. As I read and reflected on the suffering and resiliency found in these pages, and on the need for more compassionate, patient-centered care, I was reminded of another book I read and loved that inspired rage and awe: The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service. I highly recommend both.

[emma renee]

Infuriating, heartbreaking, shocking but somehow not surprising. I have many words to describe the stories detailed in this book and somehow none can fully encapsulate just how raw it was. I am not someone who is pregnant or planning to be, but as a white woman in the United States I had a limited view of just how dangerous pregnancy has been and could be for people in this country, particularly people of color. Go in cautiously as the book will obviously contain very triggering and traumatizing themes, but I would highly encourage you to pick this one up.

Thank you so so much to Atria for mailing me a review copy.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important, enraging, depressing book about what women go through when pregnant and how often they lose decision-making power over their own bodies and health. This is true in both red and blue states.

Though the material was largely familiar to me, Carmon's book pulled it together in a moving way, using five women's experiences as illustrations. I don't think it's spoiling anything, but I will put it behind a spoiler tag, to say that one woman dies and one ends up in jail as a result of their pregnancies. Horrific.

Because the five women's stories are told in parallel, in the first half of the book, I sometimes lost track of who was who.

The author narrates the audiobook. She has an unusually high voice, but once I got used to it, I thought she did a good job.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25* rounded down

While I've known for awhile that maternal medical care in the United States leaves much to be desired, and that there's quite a range in outcomes across the country, this book and the accounts of the five women and their families really drove home the fact that the maternal care provided and the maternal mortality rate here is akin to that of a developing country. As much as I hate to say it, while I had seen the statistics, putting these stories to those numbers really made it all the more real.

[Jenny D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbearable chronicles the perils of being pregnant in America. From focusing on chemical endangerment laws in Alabama to midwifery in New York City and the fight for access and autonomy in the birthing process. It is a great book for those trying to understand how nursing shortages and burnout issues led to medical mistakes that hurt patients and how the American system requires you to be an advocate for yourself in order to get the care you deserve.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important book. Carmon covers the current administration and the impact on lives in America since the Dobbs decision. I like how Carmon showcases both her excellent journalistic skills as well as her personal experience. And I think she writes one of the most powerful and clarifying conclusions that I’ve read of late. The topic of bodily autonomy and human rights alights all sorts of feelings, and I surely experienced both white-hot rage and deep sorrow while reading this book, but I think Carmon’s greatest talent is giving form and focus my sometimes nebulous (albeit well placed) righteous indignation.

[Anna Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, but a devastating read.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important book, especially in the post-Dobbs era. Definitely a depressing read.

[Cynthia (Bingeing On Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very powerful book about the dangers of being pregnant in the US. The stories were frustrating and often so sad. Not exactly mind-blowing information, but still important.

[Tara Sypien]

I still have about 2 hours left in the audio book but I had to come write down some feelings that I am having. I am a NICU nurse. I have seen the worst of the worst and been present for some horrible deliveries. I feel the author is being very very one sided with her portrayal of C-sections. C-sections have and will continue to save lives, baby's and mom's. The fact that she chose to put in her book the rare circumstance of a maternal death after C-section is actually sending a very harmful message that could potentially harm/kill mothers and babies. I am not impressed. Also, did she do her research regarding hospital policies? We do not allow the support person in the OR suite until the sterile surgical field is set up. If the mother is going under with general anesthesia (which is a possibility if an epidural was refused and now the situation is urgent) the support person will not be allowed back to the OR until the mother is intubated. This is a kindness. Would you want to see your loved one get intubated? Have you ever seen the procedure? Please do your research before you present a rare one-sided story.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The award winning author of “Notorious RBG,” takes a deep dive into the fallout from the end of Roe v. Wade. Carmon reflects on how about half of the states immediately imposed abortion bans that have caused “unimaginable pain.” She addresses how reproduction is controlled through systemic misogyny, paternalism, and racism using tools that range from coercion to criminalization. She laments how some prioritize potential life over existing life, and the “crass reality” that money “can buy you a way out.” She points out how states are mandating that women continue pregnancies, yet fail to provide them with skilled providers, a safe environment, and the dignity and autonomy to which they are entitled.

To illustrate her points, Carmon focuses on five disparate women: (1) Maggie Boyd, a Canadian residing in New York with her husband who, after a surprise pregnancy, is disoriented by the American health system, including private insurance, deductibles, and co-pays. Boyd was disappointed by the lack of care that she received at a birth center, resulting in an emergency transfer to a hospital. During a C-section, a uterine artery was torn resulting in organ failure, the need for a full-body blood transplant, and the destruction of a part of Boyd’s pituitary gland; (2) Hali Burns, a married woman in Alabama who had managed her opioid addiction through prescribed Subutex, but tested positive for drugs during an unexpected second pregnancy, and was charged under the chemical endangerment laws leading to a prison sentence and preventing her from bonding with her baby and losing custody of her children; (3) Christine Fields, a New Yorker whose story poignantly Illustrates how Black women are at particular risk of poor reproductive medical care; (4) Allison Mollman, a married lawyer who lives in Alabama and works for the ACLU. She and her wife felt unwelcome at the fertility clinics they visited, and effective fertility treatment was difficult for them to procure because they flouted the conservative ideal of early heterosexual marriage and childbearing so the couple created a piecemeal insemination kit. Alison suffered several miscarriages, and the state refused to treat her as a patient because she was pregnant. Physicians sent her home without medication to speed along the miscarriages or D&Cs to remove the tissues although the pregnancies could not result in live births; and (5) Yashica Robinson, a physician in Alabama who excelled despite having two children when she was still in high school. Her illiterate grandmother helped her raise her children so that she could complete high school, and she received a full scholarship to an HBC and then was accepted to medical school at Morehouse. Yashica provided abortion services to her patients in Alabama, considering abortions a part of obstetrics. In her practice, she serves many Black women on Medicaid and offers them care that exceeds their expectations. She sued the state for preventing her from opening a birth center that would allow low risk patients to give birth on their own terms with safe, compassionate, and connected care provided by midwives freeing Yashica to tend to high risk pregnancies.

While focusing on these five women, Carmon investigates the enraging nature of the history of women’s reproductive care which has been dominated by white-coat patriarchs. White male doctors experimented on enslaved women, without surgical anesthesia (although it was then available), because Black procreation helped to sustain slavery. That research ultimately benefited white women’s reproductive health. White male doctors in the 19th century sought to supplant midwives and put them out of business by declaring abortions not only unsafe, but murderous. New state laws made abortion illegal at any stage of pregnancy, and left the control over pregnancy with white male doctors. Those nineteenth century abortion bans were not swept away until 1973 with Roe v. Wade, and then were ameliorated by Dobbs. Thank you Zakiya Jamal, Senior Marketing Manager, Atria Books, for an advance copy of this important book.

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is all so outrageously insane, really.

Schoolgirls who have 2 kids by the time they are out of middle school? What's even going on in those schools? And becoming a great OB/GYN after that? Fantastic results!
A schoolgirl who needs to go to court to get order to get an abortion or inform her parents?
Doctors letting a woman bleed out (!) so as not to be thought providing abortions?
A woman losing a fetus in the beginning of the preg who has to travel to get care?
A woman who is afraid to get her own medical records?
Unnecessary C-sections?
The blatant racism is also quite blood-curdling! Seems that White people are still not quite over mistreating African Americans? Are several centuries not quite enough? Why is it still on (and in the medical field as well)?

This is all so quaintly Middle Aged, I could puke!
Is this all some sort of a whacked medical-themed costume party?
Are we going to have active Inquisition installed next or what?

Q:
“Black procreation helped to sustain slavery, giving slave masters an economic incentive to govern Black women’s reproductive lives,” reproductive justice scholar Dorothy Roberts observed. She quotes Thomas Jefferson’s letter to his son-in-law in 1820: “I consider a woman who brings a child every two years as more profitable than the best man on the farm.” What rendered these words doubly chilling was that sexual abuse of enslaved people was sickeningly common; Jefferson himself fathered at least six children with a woman he enslaved, Sally Hemings. It took him decades to free his own children. (c) This is about all we need to know on this brand of democracy and its 'fathers', thank you.

Or this:
Q: Sims pronounced the thirtieth surgery performed on Anarcha to be a success, four years after she had come into his custody. (c) 30! operations without anesthesia??!!! I think Hitler would've been very pround of this guy.
Q: With Lucy, he tried to leave a sponge inside her body to soak up the urine, “a very stupid thing for me to do,” he conceded, because of course it caused a massive infection. “Lucy’s agony was extreme,” he wrote. She was near death. (c) Stupid????!!!!
Q: “I made this proposition to the owners of the negroes: If you will give me Anarcha and Betsey for experiment, I agree to perform no experiment or operation on either of them to endanger their lives, and will not charge a cent for keeping them, but you must pay their taxes and clothe them.” Eventually, Sims purchased an unnamed enslaved woman directly in order to continue his experimental surgeries on her. (c) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The botched-up deliveries is quite another round of hell:
Q: The nature of Christine’s injury was chillingly familiar. So was a name in the story. I riffled through a pile of papers and opened a folder Maggie and Matt had given me containing Maggie’s medical records. What I saw in blackand-white made me dizzy, and then nauseous. Right there on the first page, the medical notes were signed Ronald Daniel. The same doctor had operated on Maggie and Christine, about four years apart, each time committing a strikingly similar mistake. Each time with witnesses, but without immediate accountability. Each time with a partner screaming for help. But Maggie had lived to raise her child. Christine had not. (c) Seriously, you are so bent over pro-lifing? How about you try and deliver kids normally, without endangering any women??

More TBA.

[Merricat Blackwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot worth reading in this book. If you're the kind of person who takes an interest in a book like this you're probably not going to have your mind blown by the knowledge that Dobbs has made doctors in red states afraid to provide even life-saving care in cases like ectopic pregnancies and placental abruptions, or that criminalizing drug use during pregnancy makes women into not-quite-rights-bearing citizens while also inflicting horrible danger on fetuses and newborns, but it's worthwhile to reencounter that knowledge in the context of specific, closely reported, absolutely infuriating individual stories.

I have some reservations, or maybe just confusion, about the discussion of midwifery vs. medically attended birth in this book. I didn't come into the book with any knowledge about this (I am a non-child-haver) and I felt like I could have used a clearer orientation on just what midwives are. Like, what kind of training do you need to be a midwife? In countries where midwives handle a large percentage of births, how do they usually interact with OBGYNs, and how do they deal with complicated births? Carmon attributes a lot of the problems with medical birth--unnecessary C-sections and episiotomies, nonconsensual administration of painkillers, disrespectful and objectifying treatment of women in labor--to the financial pressures on hospitals to get through births quickly and particularly to avoid spending extensive resources on women on Medicaid, for whom the reimbursement to the hospital will be limited. This seems perfectly convincing to me, but then what are midwife clinics doing differently to avoid those pressures? Everyone has bills, right? Carmon does cite statistics and studies, but they seem scattered--like, a fact from Vienna in the 1840s, then a fact from Alabama in the 1930s, then a fact from present-day New York. Quite late in the book there's a reference to a midwife-model clinic not offering epidurals, and this is treated as something that should be obvious. Maybe there's something I'm missing here, but it strikes me as really odd to not have epidurals available even as a backup plan, and I want to know what that's about! I don't know, maybe I was just supposed to come into this book with more knowledge than I did. (I will also note, this isn't a central point in the book at all, but there are some fairly positive references to the midwife Ina May Gaskin. Gaskin is an incredibly disturbing character who self-reports sexually abusing her patients and led a cult. So ... that doesn't leave me with a huge amount of confidence that midwifery is being presented in a fair light!)

[Laura Bouchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book, read by the author. She is a journalist, who has vigilantly researched to learn about and understand the rights and treatment of pregnant women nationwide. She tells the story of five specific women, following their journeys of pregnancy, but also tells the stories of many more.

It’s a tough read, to be honest. I totally get why she chose this title.

There is a deep dive into the history of obstetrics, telling of male slave owners doing experiments on pregnant slave women which is awful and painful to get through.

The theme that really came through was that the rights of the embryo and then fetus are viewed as more important than the rights of a pregnant woman, in almost every scenario. Often, the pregnant woman is seen as merely a vessel for the unborn child.

It sickens me that due to the Dobbs decision, many pregnant women with ectopic pregnancies or loss through miscarriage must suffer in agony because their unborn (but unable to survive outside the womb) embryos or fetuses can not be taken out of them due to the fact that they have more rights than the mother. States prosecute doctors or anyone who helps with removal of a pregnancy, whether or not that pregnancy will lead to the birth of a baby.

The US is the leader in maternal mortality in developed nations. The priority for life is given to the baby.

Often, women are not listened to in the delivery room. Or are not respected, and not given the care they deserve. This is a situation that I myself encountered during my first delivery.

One of the toughest parts was the story of a woman who is jailed for failing a drug test while pregnant. Because apparently jail is a good place to be pregnant/postpartum. The child endangerment law basically criminalizes any person who is in any stage of pregnancy (even before they know) who tests positive for any drugs. And the women aren’t taken care of. Just put in jail. And their babies taken away.

Another tough part is the stories of the maternal deaths of Christine and a few others who died during delivery at Woodhull hospital in Brooklyn. The negligence in these situations was awful to learn about.

This book is tough, but important. It’s eye-opening. It’s a picture of how systemic racism and sexism affect pregnant women. Women who deserve respect no matter how they want their pregnancy to end or the color of their skin, or the care that is needed.

It’s a call for empathy, and solidarity. And change! We cannot let this continue to go on.

[Madison ✨ (mad.lyreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of note: I did not realize the author was Israeli until after having read this, and according to Wikipedia she is the granddaughter of Zionists. I tried to see if she, herself, holds these beliefs, and I could not find anything from her regarding her views. That being said, her silence says volumes.

This book is, honestly, absolutely horrifying, and it will be a hard read. I first was under the impression that it would follow women from different parts of the country, but I quickly realized that was not the case. There is a woman in Alabama, but there are two women in New York. This does not only examine the impact laws restricting abortion access is having on pregnant people, but the lack of resources in our complicated medical system. This book, of course, examines how race impacts maternal care, and I am personally upset I had not yet gotten around to Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts (a must read in the field of Reproductive Justice, that the author regularly cites, as she should).

Significantly, this book was eye opening to me, a white woman in a blue state, on how having access to abortion is not the end of the conversation regarding safety in birth. Reproductive Justice is such a vast concept, covering more than just abortion, but our society does not discuss it, and I think it should.

Because of how difficult of a read this is, please look at trigger warnings. For a moment in the beginning I considered telling my friend who is pregnant with her first child about this book, but I quickly realized that is most likely a bad idea.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashley Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pregnancy in America is far more terrifying than most people realize. in this book the author takes a deep dive into five separate experiences across America, including her own. she explores what it is to be a black woman, a poor white woman with a history of addiction, a gay woman trying to build a family, and the average middle class white woman. she looks at the systems in Big cities, like NYC and small rural communities in Alabama. no matter where you go there are huge short comings in caring for women and their babies. This most evident in the disparities seen in black and Hispanic populations. She also takes the time to explaine how the overturning of Roe v. Wade means more than just no more abortions. it means so much more for women's overall health.

It took me a little bit to come up with the words for this book. i remember in nursing school learning about the statistics of maternal fetal outcomes. it was jaw dropping, especially the fact that Milwaukee has some of the worst outcomes for black women and their babies. As someone who has has such a strong passion for adequate access to healthcare, this book was heartbreaking. these women face so many challenges. even death, because the healthcare system is broken and women are not taken serious. I could go on about this topic forever. so just got read the book, basically sums up everything that is wring with women's health access in America.