High Risk: A Doctor’s Notes on Pregnancy, Birth, and the Unexpected

Karkowsky, a physician who specializes in maternal-fetal medicine, shares experiences and lessons for fellow medical providers and future parents in this educational, and sometimes harrowing, debut. She covers medical basics for prospective mothers, such as choosing a doctor (she recommends opting for one who displays “pragmatic compassion”) and undergoing prenatal diagnostic testing, discussing why it’s both important and challenging. In Karkowsky’s case, she relates how receiving test results that her—ultimately, perfectly healthy—daughter was at risk of being born with a genetic disorder “stole the joy” out of her pregnancy. She also explains “Medical Language, the official language of Doctor,” and how it allows doctors to “describe but distance” themselves from patients. But it’s the book’s case studies that provide it with drama and suspense. Stories from Karkowsky’s practice include the heartbreaking one of a mother faced with giving birth either via a traumatic cesarean procedure, to a baby which might survive, or vaginally, to a baby which almost certainly wouldn’t. Readers prepared for this book’s harder-hitting passages will find it an illuminating and often riveting report from the front lines of labor and delivery. Agent: Jessica Papin, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Mar.)