NWHN’s Summer Reading Recommendations

by Cynthia Pearson

Big, Beautiful and Pregnant by Cornelia van der Ziel and Jacqueline Tourville (2006). Big, beautiful, and pregnant -- three words you don’t hear together very often. Van der Ziel, an ObGyn who specializes in plus-size pregnancies, and Tourville, who’s lived the experience, wrote this book to challenge the misconception that big women who get pregnant are automatically a danger – if not to themselves, then to their babies. The authors face an uphill battle, as most people assume that every big person is unhealthy.

NWHN believes that it’s fitness that counts, and that large people can be healthy – especially those who are born with a large frame and weight to match. Too many individuals and doctors assume that if a woman is large before becoming pregnant, the most important task during pregnancy is for her to lose weight. Van der Ziel and Tourville carefully describe what big women need to do while pregnant, dispelling myths and misconceptions and noting the circumstances where big women do have special issues while pregnant. This is a great book for anyone, big or otherwise, who’s pregnant or soon-to-be. The cover alone is a great morale booster. Available for $16.95 from Marlowe & Company.

Fight Like a Girl: How to Be a Fearless Feminist, by Megan Seely (2007). Getting tired of commentators telling us that young women are turned off by feminism? If you are, you’ll love Seely’s new book, no matter what your age. The author addresses young women directly, but her message is appropriate for anyone who wants women to be treated more fairly. Seely addresses a few of the emotional issues that become self-imposed barriers to taking action – eating disorders, for example, or the fear of being labeled. But, for the most part, Fight Like a Girl is a how-to manual offering tips for how to challenge unfair practices, organize an event, start an organization, write a press release, and so much more.

The book is informed by Seely’s own experiences as a feminist activist, which include supporting the farmer workers organizing efforts at age 14, working with women at a feminist health clinic, and being the youngest woman ever elected president of California NOW. Fight Like a Girl is a great present for a young woman, but deserves to be read widely by women of all ages. Available for $17.95 from New York University Press.

A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities by Jane Maxwell, Julia Watts Belser, and Darlena David (2007). This handbook is the latest in the wonderful Where There is No Doctor series. The series, which began in the 1970s, is designed for use in parts of the world where a lay health worker provides basic care and, according to the World Health Organization, is the most widely used public health manual in the world. People who live and work where the guides are used are involved in suggesting newsletterarticles. All of the handbooks are written in simple language with lots of illustrations, that helps guide a health care worker through basic procedures. The handbooks can also help health care workers determine when common situations are too complicated to be treated safely without a doctor.

A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities provides the same type of useful information, and more. The authors believe that the social stigma of disability is often a greater barrier to care than the disability itself. They’ve written this handbook to help women with disabilities and their allies organize for disability-friendly health care. The authors also provide great information on having healthy and safe sexual relationships, which types of contraception are manageable, preparing for pregnancy and childbirth, and defending against violence or abuse. Available for $20 from the Hesperian Foundation.