The five standards for safe childbearing : good nutrition, skillful midwifery, natural childbirth, home birth, breastfeeding / by David Stewart ; chapters by G.J. Kloosterman [and others] ; other contributions by Gail Sforza Brewer, Tom Brewer, Mayer Eisenstein].

"With the most costly & technologically sophisticated maternity care system in the world, the U.S. ranks poorly among developed countries for rates of preventable birth injury and maternal/infant death. More than a million babies have died in the U.S. since 1940 that would have lived were it not for the doctor-hospital dominated maternity system that dictates Standards for American Childbirth. Every 29 minutes, on an average, another baby dies unnecessarily in a U.S. hospital. The current standards of obstetric/neonatal practice, as applied to the majority of American mothers and babies, are wrong. They are dangerous. The time has come to change them to a safer, more human system. American birth mortalities could be reduced immediately by one half by adopting The Five Standards of this book. More than 18,000 newborn babies, as well as scores of new mothers, would be saved every year. This book contains the most comprehensive review of the scientific literature on the safety of home birth & midwifery ever compiled. It is the most thoroughly documented set of maternity standards ever published. As a mother, you should read this book for the protection of yourself and you baby. As a health professional, you should read this for the protection and best interests of the families you serve."--Provided by publisher.