Born Still (A Memoir of Grief)

How did we move so far from love that a mother’s grief became the vehicle with which to punish her? Losing a baby during childbirth is one of the most heartbreaking things imaginable. But to then be accused of causing that death is nothing short of soul-destroying. Janet Fraser’s story shows what happens when private grief is turned into a public accusation against a woman who dared to exercise choice about how and were she gave birth. This sobering book demonstrates the penalties dished out to women who dare to question medical orthodoxy and to make decisions for themselves about their own bodies. When things go wrong in a hospital, it is seen as unavoidable, and no one is to blame, as the medical institutions are seen as the arbiters of decision-making. The layers of bureaucracy protect insiders. Yet if a baby dies in a home birth, the full weight of the law comes down upon the woman who dared to give birth outside a hospital. Janet Fraser is that woman and this is her story of injustice, loss and grief. This painful yet enlightening book shows that the patriarchy still wrestles for the control of women and their bodies.