Intimate adversaries

by Alexandra Dundas Todd

"Effective communication between doctors and patients is essential to good health care, yet patients increasingly complain of impersonal, overly technical medical treatment. Physicians, on the other hand, report that their patients have unrealistic expectations and ignore recommendations. Problems in doctor-patient communication increase when the patient is a woman. Social values and attitudes toward reproduction, women's bodies, and femininity are powerful, if subtle, influence on health care delivery. For over two years Alexandra Todd audiotaped and observed communications between gynecologists and women patients in a private practitioner's office and in a community clinic. This book provides a close-up view of what takes place in medical interactions centered on reproductive care. Todd is especially sensitive to the difficulties caused by the different perspectives of doctor and patient. Whereas doctors usually concentrate on a biomedical approach, patients view their biological con