![]() So that was one comparison that I noticed very early on and actually talked about it a lot. What I could do was make it a better experience, make it more comfortable. I as a doctor had absolutely no control over the fact that that person was going to die. I could help, I could make sure that people were safe, I could make it comfortable and good experience and then, when I was dealing with somebody that was terminally ill, that was dying, in just the same way. It was pretty early in my career that I realized that when you’re involved with a pregnant woman in labor, there’s a very strong biological event that’s happening that I didn’t really have any control over. Do you have a couple of those moments that you remember clearly like, okay yes, your father said that but then you’re seeing it play out in real life, you’re noticing, sort of having an epiphany of sorts? You say that during your career in medicine, you learned that people facing terminal illness need many of the same things that women giving birth need. So, I thought about it for a lot and thought I’d write about it.īenji Block: Yeah. The idea is that the care that we as doctors and caregivers give at both ends of life has a lot of similarity to it. ![]() The concept is something I’ve talked about for years but my father, who was a word nerd and also an obstetrician, had talked about the concept and coined the word, and I borrowed it from him. So Tokos and Thanatos-ology, obviously, means study of. It comes from the Greek words for childbirth and death. First of all, Tokothanatology is not a real word yet. She has just authored a new book titled, Bookends: A Family Doctor Explores Birth, Death and Tokothanatology and Susan, thank you for being on Author Hour and being with us today.īenji Block: So, before we even get to your background, you’ve got to tell us, because this title has a word in it that maybe no one’s heard of, but tell me a little bit about the title and why this became a topic that you knew you needed to cover? I’m your host Benji Block and today, I am joined by Susan Boron. She shows how expertise in one area of care easily transfers to the other, increasing confidence and improving care and satisfaction for practitioner and patience alike. Susan Boron explores the powerful human aspects of caring for people at both ends of their lives. What do birth and death have in common? They both represent times of profound change when patients and their families need emotional support and empathy from their caregivers, things they don’t teach in medical school.
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