Author

Hossain, Anushay

Place of Publication

New York

Publisher

Tiller Press

Publication Date

2021

Physical Description

279pp

Subjects

Anti-Racism

Diversity

Abstract

When Anushay Hossain became pregnant in the US, she was so relieved. Growing up in Bangladesh in the 1980s, where the concept of women?s healthcare hardly existed, she understood how lucky she was to access the best in the world. But she couldn?t have been more wrong. Things started to go awry from the minute she stepped in the hospital, and after thirty hours of labor (two of which she spent pushing), Hossain?s epidural slipped. Her pain was so severe that she ran a fever of 104 degrees, and as she shook and trembled uncontrollably, the doctors finally performed an emergency C-section.

Giving birth in the richest country on earth, Hossain never imagined she could die in labor. But she almost did. The experience put her on a journey to explore, understand, and share how women?especially women of color?are dismissed to death by systemic sexism in American healthcare.

Following in the footsteps of feminist manifestos such as The Feminine Mystique and Rage Becomes Her, The Pain Gap is an eye-opening and stirring call to arms that encourages women to flip their ?hysteria complex? on its head and use it to revolutionize women?s healthcare. This book tells the story of Hossain?s experiences?from growing up in South Asia surrounded by staggering maternal mortality rates to lobbying for global health legislation on Capitol Hill to nearly becoming a statistic herself. Along the way, she realized that a little fury might be just what the doctor ordered.

Meticulously researched and deeply reported, this book explores real women?s traumatic experiences with America?s healthcare system?and empowers everyone to use their experiences to bring about the healthcare revolution women need.

ISBN

9781-9821-77775

Language

English

Material Type

Book

Call Number

REF NR 100 HOS 2021

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Author

Shaeen-Hussain, Samir

Place of Publication

Quebec

Publisher

McGill Queen University Press

Publication Date

2020

Physical Description

Paperback 326pp

Subject

Diversity

Health

Ethics

health inequities

Indigenous

Abstract

Launched by healthcare providers in January 2018, the #aHand2Hold campaign confronted the Quebec government's practice of separating children from their families during medical evacuation airlifts, which disproportionately affected remote and northern Indigenous communities. Pediatric emergency physician Samir Shaheen-Hussain's captivating narrative of this successful campaign, which garnered unprecedented public attention and media coverage, seeks to answer lingering questions about why such a cruel practice remained in place for so long. In doing so it serves as an indispensable case study of contemporary medical colonialism in Quebec. Fighting for a Hand to Hold exposes the medical establishment's role in the displacement, colonization, and genocide of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Through meticulously gathered government documentation, historical scholarship, media reports, public inquiries, and personal testimonies, Shaheen-Hussain connects the draconian medevac practice with often-disregarded crimes and medical violence inflicted specifically on Indigenous children. This devastating history and ongoing medical colonialism prevent Indigenous communities from attaining internationally recognized measures of health and social well-being because of the pervasive, systemic anti-Indigenous racism that persists in the Canadian public health care system - and in settler society at large. Shaheen-Hussain's unique perspective combines his experience as a frontline pediatrician with his long-standing involvement in anti-authoritarian social justice movements. Sparked by the indifference and callousness of those in power, this book draws on the innovative work of Indigenous scholars and activists to conclude that a broader decolonization struggle calling for reparations, land reclamation, and self-determination for Indigenous peoples is critical to achieve reconciliation in Canada.

ISBN

9780-2280-03601

Material Type

Book

Call Number

ET 100 SHA 2020

Copies