Synopses & Reviews
It is a truth widely acknowledged that if youandrsquo;re pregnant and can afford one, youandrsquo;re going to pick up a pregnancy manual. From
What to Expect When Youandrsquo;re Expecting to
Pregnancy for Dummies, these guides act as portable mentors for women who want advice on how to navigate each stage of pregnancy. Yet few women consider the effect of these manualsandmdash;how they propel their readers into a particular system of care or whether the manual they choose reflects or contradicts current medical thinking.
Using a sophisticated rhetorical analysis, Marika Seigel works to deconstruct pregnancy manuals while also identifying ways to improve communication about pregnancy and healthcare. She traces the manualsandrsquo; evolution from early twentieth-century tomes that instructed readers to unquestioningly turn their pregnancy management over to doctors, to those of the womenandrsquo;s health movement that encouraged readers to engage more critically with their care, to modern online sources that sometimes serve commercial interests as much as the motherandrsquo;s.
The first book-length study of its kind, The Rhetoric of Pregnancy is a must-read for both users and designers of our prenatal systemsandmdash;doctors and doulas, scholars and activists, and anyone interested in encouraging active, effective engagement.
Review
andldquo;The Rhetoric of Pregnancy connects and extends important scholarly conversations while advancing the ethical development of technical documentation and the practices (health care and otherwise) this documentation shapes. Practitioners, advocates, and pregnant women themselves will find this book accessible and instructive.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
“Marika Seigel argues eloquently for the need to change the current US system of prenatal care, labor, and delivery, and she does so in terms that will resonate with policy makers, health care professionals, and the expecting mothers who are the most important stakeholders in this situation. She incorporates key concepts from technical communication to shed light on the rhetorical function of pregnancy manuals as documents that not only instruct women how to do the work of pregnancy, labor, and delivery but also rhetorically construct the female reproductive body in a particular way. The book will make important contributions to scholarly conversations in technical communication, medical rhetoric, and womens studies.” Amy Koerber, Texas Tech University
Review
"Rich and eye-opening." London School of Economics Review of Books
Review
"The Rhetoric of Pregnancy . . . interrogates the medical system that has transformed pregnancy into a solely medical event equipped with machines and procedures. Seigeland#8217;s investigation of pregnancy manuals that perpetuate 'functional rather than critical access'highlights the ways in which our current medical system does not allow women choice before, during, and after pregnancy. By the end of The Rhetoric of Pregnancy, Seigel has provided an alternative: for women to create pregnancy manuals that question the system and to engage and disengage based on free will rather than being obliged to simply follow the instructions." Seigeland#8217;s The Rhetoric of Pregnancy, a critical book-length study of the rhetoric surrounding pregnancy, interrogates the medical system that has transformed pregnancy into a solely medical event equipped with machines and procedures. Seigeland#8217;s investigation of pregnancy manuals that perpetuate and#8220;functional rather than critical accessand#8221; highlights the ways in which our current medical system does not allow women choice before, during, and after pregnancy. By the end of The Rhetoric of Pregnancy, Seigel has provided an alternative: for women to create pregnancy manuals that question the system and to engage and disengage based on free will rather than being obliged to simply follow the instructions. - See more at: http://www.literarymama.com/reviews/archives/2014/07/body-of-work-a-review-of-the-rhetoric-of-pregnancy.html#sthash.0ys0KlEL.dpuf
Review
"Seigel contends the work of pregnancy and#8216;has material consequences on womenand#8217;s bodies and ways of living.' Her book rearticulates this work, but she also rearticulates the work of usability, making recommendations to technical communicators to help them write documents that can provide critical access to technological systems such as the prenatal care system."
About the Author
Marika Seigelis associate professor of rhetoric and technical communication at Michigan Technological University. She lives in Houghton, MI.and#160;
Table of Contents
Foreword by Jane PincusAcknowledgments1and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Operating Instructions for Pregnancy2and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Usable Pregnancy3and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Father of Prenantal Care: J. W. Ballantyne and System-Constitutive Documentation4and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Mothers of Prenatal Care: Elizabeth Putnam, the IDNA, and User-Centered Care5and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Getting in the Way: Pregnancy Manuals during the Womenandrsquo;s Health Movement6and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; What to Expect from Risk Management7and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; System Error: Troubleshooting the Pregnant Body8and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Virtually Pregnant: Consuming Prenatal CareConclusion Instruction for Systemic ChangeNotesReferencesIndex