Very infomrative book. Good comparisions, and aknowledging the role black women have played in this field. Good read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

This book was very insightful and revealing to me. Much of the occurrences that were mentioned in this book I had never heard of before which is unfortunate because this black women and Irish women suffered and sacrificed at the hands of Dr. Sims and male gynecologist. It is because of these (mostly nameless) women that women are able to be helped with their gynecological issues today. This is something we all should be talking about. I usually do not read non-fiction unless it is a textbook for school or something about science (I’m a total nerd) and I thought that Medical Bondage, being non-fiction, might bore me....BUT IT DID NOT!! It held my attention all the way through.

~ The Novel Gent

An interesting peek into gynecology and the race issue that no one really talks about (within the topic). A nice difference from the books I have been reading and had me thinking about it after I was done.

This book discussed the history of the field of gynaecology and how it relates to race and gender. Obviously the field of gynaecology affects the female gender due to its very nature but adding race to the mix reveals some ugly truths about the field itself. Many people ( including myself) consider the field of gynaecology itself to be behind in knowledge in comparison to other medical specialities and this book contributes to that theory by showing its dark origins. I am not a fan of feminist or gender based theories but this book does discuss some real horrors in history for women, particularly women of colour and I think this book should be read by future and current gynaecologists. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in medicine as well as history. I give this 4.5 stars out of 5. I thank Netgalley very much for the ARC which gave me the opportunity to read this informative books.

This book is an extraordinary statement on how the personal is always political, as enslaved black woman are finally given their rightful place in history as the mothers of American gynaecology!

This is an amazing book about history of American obstetrics and gynecology. The author refers to historical and medical facts, doctors and their devices that some of us very familiar. A good example would be Dr. Sims, his practice, research, and famous medical devices such as Sims forceps. Did you know that he relied on speed during surgery, in order to save women's lives? Well, sounds familiar for those of us, who was in OR, right?
The author explains well the origins of practice of a gynecologist versus a midwife, male versus female practitioner with different scope of practice. The need for pain relief during birth for a white woman versus black is also discussed as well as the view of female body as weaker than male one.