MEMORIES FROM THE SCALPEL ; A REVIEW OF HALEEMAH ALLI’S KNIVES AND NAPPIES
By
Wale Okediran
Hospital stories are famous in Literature for their large followership. The reason for this could be because people generally love to know how other people are faring with their health concerns or how they too will cope when in such a situation. Yet, for some others, it is just curiosity or that unexplainable human behaviour of sadism, joy from other people’s suffering. Whatever it may be, the truth is that people just enjoy reading about other people’s health concerns. I should know this. After more than ten years of running my ‘Ask The Doctor’ column in one of Nigeria’s oldest and largest circulating newspapers, I am often surprised when people accost me at social events and shower me with compliments about my column.
In KNIVES AND NAPPIES, the author who is a multiple Caesarean Section (CS) recipient tells her story in simple and easily accessible language. The book is divided into three main sections. While Section One ‘The Caesarean Section Handbook’ tells the reader all he/she needs to know about Caesarean Sections, Section Two ‘The A,B,C of Caesarean Sections’ contains the various explanations about CS by doctors and Section Three, ‘Our Caesarean Birth Stories’ enumerates personal stories by those who have gone through the rigours of Caesarean Sections.
In addition to the above named sections, the Appendix is full of additional information for patients preparing for CS from how to prepare for child birth, a check list of what things are needed for a CS to the kinds of foods and drugs to consume during child birth.
So rich and educative is the book that apart from telling her story, Haleema has successfully given us a book that can be useful not only to prospective patients, but also to health workers, researchers and students alike
This review also featured in thespeakingheart.com
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