This multi-disciplinary collection of essays from the Cambridge Socio-Legal Group is concerned with the varying circumstances, manner, timing and experiences of birth. It contains essays from a wide range of disciplines including law, medicine, anthropology, history and sociology, examining birth from the perspectives of mother, doctor, midwife and father. Questions considered in the book include: who has power during the birthing process? How has the experience of birth changed over time? Should birth mark a significant change in the legal status of the foetus? What is the proper role of birth registration? What role, if any, do fathers have in the birthing process? What legal rights should the woman have to refuse treatment during the birthing process? What is the significance of changes of the age at which women give birth? This stimulating collection of papers provides new insights into one of life's most momentous moments.

MARTIN RICHARDS
Part 1: Experiences and Rites of Birth
1 Becoming a Mother: Continuities and Discontinuities over Three Decades
ANN OAKLEY, MEG WIGGINS, VICKI STRANGE, MARY SAWTELL AND HELEN AUSTERBERRY
2 Changing Medical Birth Rites in Britain 1970-2010
FRANÇOISE BARBIRA FREEDMAN
3 Are Doctors Still Improving Childbirth?
SUSAN BEWLEY AND LIN FOO
4 The Midwife-Mother Relationship
MAVIS KIRKHAM
Part 2: Status and Consequences of Birth
5 The Loneliness of Status: The Legal and Moral Significance of Birth
JONATHAN HERRING
6 Refusing Medical Treatment During Pregnancy and Birth: Ethical and Legal Issues
ROSAMUND SCOTT
7 The Consequences for Preterm Infants of Antenatal Glucocorticoid Treatment
ALISON FORHEAD AND ABIGAIL FOWDEN
8 Fathers, Birth and Law
RICHARD COLLIER
Part 3: After Birth
9 Recording Births: From the Reformation to the Welfare Reform Act
REBECCA PROBERT
10 The Changing Form of Birth Registration
JULIE MCCANDLESS
11 Birthright had Nothing to do with It; Royal Inheritance in the Middle Ages
FRANCIS WOODMAN
12 Infanticide and Insanity in 19th Century England
SHELLEY DAY SCLATER
Part 4: Timing of Birth
13 Explaining the Trend towards Older First Time Mothers – A Life Course Perspective
IRENEE DALY
14 Too Late or Too Many – Dilemmas Facing the Modern Woman Seeking Help with Fertility
PETER BRAUDE AND TAREK EL-TOUKHY
15 IVF Birth Data Presentation: Its Impact on Clinical Practice and Patient Choice
EMILY JACKSON AND HOSSAM ABDALLA

“Birth Rites and Rights contains a mixture of empirical and theoretical chapters, drawing on a range of disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, gender studies, (medical) sociology, law, and history. On the whole this is a strength of the book...each author refers to points or arguments made in other chapters which generates a dialogue between the authors, and creates a sense of cohesion around the book, The book offers something for everyone, and is particularly useful for sociology and medical students.” –  Laura Machin, Medical Law Review