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Pictured at the book launch, from left, Liz Newson (GP), Paul Jervis (Middlesex University Press), Luke Zander (GP and contributor), Celia Cozens (Managing Editor, Middlesex University Press), Colin Francome (Health Series Editor, Middlesex University Press), Wendy Savage (author), Jane Sandall (contributor) and John Hendy QC (contributor)
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In at the birth of a power struggle
WENDY Savage, the distinguished retired gynaecologist and champion of women’s rights in childbirth, launched her latest book, Birth and Power, at St Bart’s Medical School in Charterhouse Square on Monday evening.
The book, with contributions from leading experts in legal and medical fields, deals with the question of who controls childbirth – patients or doctors?
It presents Ms Savage’s belief that women should be given greater control over decisions made during pregnancy, and examines how these issues have changed since she first raised them some 20 years ago.
Ms Savage was at the centre of a public debate in 1985 when she was suspended from medical practice on false charges of incompetence in the management of five obstetrics cases.
Her case became a cause celebre and and she received the backing of fellow practitioners and thousands of Londoners, who protested against her suspension.
Ms Savage also bucked accepted medical wisdom – which granted an omniscient quality to doctors’ opinions – and called for greater patient input whether to opt for a natural birth or birth by caesarian section.
Following a high-profile inquiry into the incompetence charges, Ms Savage was cleared of any wrong-doing and was reinstated as honorary consultant at the Royal London Hospital in 1986. She remained in the post until 2000.
Speaking at the book launch, she said, “I hope this book will be of value to everyone in the medical profession, from students to consultants in all fields.”
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