<p>
<strong>Volume 2 in this landmark 3-volume series <em>The Anthropology of Obstetrics and Obstetricians: The Practice, Maintenance, and Reproduction of a Biomedical Profession</em> looks at cognition, risk, and responsibility in obstetrics.</strong></p>
<p>
This volume contains social science analyses of Swiss, Chilean, Mexican, US, Greek, and Irish obstetrics and obstetricians, particularly around their reasons for the overuse of cesareans; a chapter on "4 Stages of Cognition" and a condition called "Substage," which describes how these concepts apply to obstetricians; and a chapter on why obstetricians fear home birth.</p>
<p>
This book is a must-read for students, social scientists, and all maternity care practitioners who seek to understand obstetricians' differing ideologies and motives for practicing as they do.</p>
<p>
An excerpt from Vania Smith-Oka and Lydia Dixon's chapter:<br />
For systemic changes to occur, we must understand doctors' decision-making rationales and take their fear-based perspectives about risk and responsibility into account, while also paying attention to the concerns raised by scholars and activists.</p>