Synopses & Reviews
Within forty-eight hours after birth, the heel of every baby in the United States has been pricked and the blood sent for compulsory screening to detect or rule out a large number of disorders. Newborn screening is expanding rapidly, fueled by the prospect of saving lives. Yet many lives are also changed by it in ways not yet recognized.
Testing Baby is the first book to draw on parentsandrsquo; experiences with newborn screening in order to examine its far-reaching sociological consequences. Rachel Grobandrsquo;s cautionary tale also explores the powerful ways that parentsandrsquo; narratives have shaped this emotionally charged policy arena. Newborn screening occurs almost always without parentsandrsquo; consent and often without their knowledge or understanding, yet it has the power to alter such things as family dynamics at the household level, the context of parenting, the way we manage disease identity, and how parentsandrsquo; interests are understood and solicited in policy debates.
Review
andquot;Testing Baby does what sociology is meant to doandmdash;transform our understanding of everyday life, connect the personal to the structural, and challenge our thinking.and#160; A rare accomplishmentandquot;
Review
andquot;Rachel Grob's timely and insightful analysis explores how families actually experience newborn screening. It will be read with profit by anyone interested in issues raised by medical screening programs generally.andquot;
Review
"Grob provokes the reader to think deeply about a taken-for-granted aspect of the medicalization of reproduction in the United States." Diane B. Paul - The Politics of Heredity: Essays on Eugenics, Biomedicine, and the Nature-Nurtur
Review
andquot;Newborn screening is a most interesting area that impacts each and every individual in countless ways. In this truly inspiring work, Grob has captured what others have not been able to write about the topic. Essential.andquot;
Review
andquot;Gripping, tragic, cogent, emotional, and haunting, reading through these narrative accounts and Grob's interpretation of them achieves the effect of great sociological monographs.andquot;
Review
andquot;
Testing Baby is an excellent book for medical professionalsandmdash;including physicians, social workers, and genetic researchersandmdash;as well as policymakers. A relevant and important contribution that sits at the interface of medical science, reproduction, and parenthood, Grobandrsquo;s work will provoke further reflection regarding the future role of technology and genetic information for the human experience.andquot;
Review
andquot;Grob provokes the reader to think deeply about a taken-for-granted aspect of the medicalization of reproduction in the United States.andquot;
Review
andquot;Her accessible,
Testing Baby,...may be the start of a differenc kind of policy conversation.andquot;
Synopsis
The role of public health services in America is generally considered to be the reduction of illness, suffering, and death. But what exactly does this mean in practice? At different points in history, professionals in the field have addressed housing reform, education about sex and illegal drugs, hospital and clinic care, gun violence, and even bioterrorism. But there is no agreement about how far public health efforts should go in attempting to modify behaviors seen as lifestyle choices, or whether the field's mandate extends to intervening in broader social and economic conditions.
The authors of the thirteen essays in this book attempt to understand what are, and what should be, the field's chief goals and activities. Drawing on examples that include September 11th, Hurricane Katrina, the anthrax scare, and more, contributors examine the historical evolution of the profession and show how public health is changing in the context of natural and human-made disasters and the politics that surround them.
About the Author
James Colgrove is an assistant professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University.
Gerald E. Markowitz is a distinguished professor of history at John Jay College, City University of New York.
David Rosner is the Ronald Lauterstein professor of sociomedical sciences and history at Columbia University and the codirector of the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health.