Henci Goer

Henci Goer, author of The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth and Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities, is an acknowledged expert on evidence-based maternity care. Goer has written consumer education pamphlets and numerous articles for magazines as diverse as Reader's Digest and the Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing. She appears on ParentsPlace.com as the "Birth Guru." Visit Henci's Web site at www.hencigoer.com

Photo by Caroline Brown

Cruelty In The Maternity Wards Revisited

by Henci Goer August 31, 2003

I based the title of my article on the title of a highly influential Ladies Home Journal article from the 1950s. It began in the November, 1957 issue with a letter to the editor from a labor and delivery nurse who gave some examples of abusive treatment of laboring women where she worked. The editors published the letter, saying that they had never heard of such mistreatment, and invited readers to respond. The result was “Cruelty in the Maternity Wards,” an outpouring that Ladies Home Journal published as an article in the May issue the following year.