“Invisible Labor: The Untold Story of the Cesarean Section,” a conversation with Rachel Somerstein moderated by Dr. Christopher Travis

For our October rounds we are honored to welcome Rachel Somerstein, writer, editor, associate professor of journalism, and researcher of maternal health, reproductive rights, gender and work, who will be speaking about her recent book, Invisible Labor: The Untold Story of the Cesarean Section.

In Invisible Labor: The Untold Story of the Cesarean Section, Somerstein weaves personal narrative and investigative journalism with medical, social, and cultural history to reveal the surprising evolution of the cesarean section, from its early practice on enslaved women to its excessive promotion by modern medical practitioners. In the United States, one in three babies is born via C-section, a rate that has grown exponentially over the past fifty years. While in most cases the procedure is safe, it is not without significant, sometimes life-changing consequences, many of which affect people of color disproportionately. Invisible Labor lifts the veil on C-sections so that people can make choices about pregnancy and surgical birth with greater knowledge of the risks, benefits, and alternatives.

Rachel Somerstein will be in conversation with Dr. Christopher Travis, MD, MS, an alumnx of the Columbia Narrative Medicine masters program and Assistant Professor and Assistant Education Director for Narrative Medicine in the Department of OB/GYN at University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University.