LEARN–APPLY–ASSESS Text An expertly designed, balanced presentation of evidence-based nursing care that meets the needs of today’s students and instructors in person, online, or hybrid for combination or separate courses. A unique emphasis on optimizing outcomes, evidence-based practice, compassionate care, and research supporting the goal of caring for women, families and children in in traditional and community settings. A thematic organization reflects the state-of-the-art in nursing today through ‘Holistic Care,’ ‘Critical Thinking,’ ‘Validating Practice,’ and ‘Tools of Care,’ each with special features to foster the development of the skills and clinical judgment integral to the delivery of quality nursing care. Davis Advantage (Personalized Learning, Clinical Judgment, and Quizzing) Personalized Learning engages students through videos and interactive activities that present key concepts in a way that makes content more relatable and understandable. Clinical Judgment challenges students with complex questions that align with the cognitive areas of the NCSBN’s Clinical Judgment Measurement Model, requiring careful analysis, synthesis of the data, and critical thinking Quizzing provides thousands of NCLEX®-style questions (including alternate format questions) and detailed rationales to test students’ knowledge and promote in-depth understanding Personalized Learning Plans and dashboards track students’ progress across their assignments and highlight where they need to focus their study time Actionable analytics allow instructors to track comprehension and participation, monitor performance, and identify areas for remediation Personalized Teaching Plans provide instructors with engaging lesson plans and activities that can be leveraged in both virtual and in-person classroom settings Integrated ebook allows students to reference the textbook anytime, anywhere Davis Advantage for Maternal-Child Nursing Care combines an innovative text with an immersive online program that make this challenging but must-know content easier to master by making learning personal. Together, they create a seamless experience that tracks each student’s progress and assesses their knowledge until they have mastered the concepts and are ready to apply them in class, clinical, and practice. An access code inside new, printed textbooks unlocks an ebook, as well as access to Davis Advantage. Or choose the all-digital Instant Access option, which includes the ebook and immediate access to Davis Advantage. TEXTBOOK Streamlined, redesigned, and revised by a new author team, the 3rd Edition of this AJN Book-of-the-Year Award winner offers the perfect balance of maternal and child nursing care with the right depth and breadth of coverage for students in today’s maternity/pediatric courses. And, it’s accompanied by six online bonus chapters covering the role of the nurse in promoting women’s health. A unique emphasis on optimizing outcomes, evidence-based practice, and research supports the goal of caring for women, families, and children, not only in traditional hospital settings, but also wherever they live, work, study, or play. Clear, concise, and easy to follow, the content is organized around four major themes, holistic care, critical thinking, validating practice, and tools for care that help students to learn and apply the material. ONLINE (DAVIS ADVANTAGE) Using a unique and proven approach across a Learn-Apply-Assess continuum, Davis Advantage engages students and helps them make the connections to key topics. Whether teaching in-person or online, this complete, integrated solution aligns seamlessly with the textbook and equips instructors with actionable analytics to track students’ progress, remediate where needed, and facilitate an active learning environment. LEARN—Personalized Learning The foundation of the Davis Advantage platform, Personalized Learning, immerses students in an online learning experience tailored to their needs. Students are assessed on their comprehension of key topics from the text, and then are guided through animated mini-lecture videos and dynamic activities to reinforce learning and bring concepts to life. APPLY—Clinical Judgment Clinical Judgment develops students’ critical thinking and clinical reasoning, helping them to build the clinical judgment skills they need to practice safe and effective nursing care and to prepare for the Next Generation NCLEX® with confidence. Progressive case studies featuring real-life, complex clinical situations challenge students to apply knowledge, make informed decisions, and evaluate outcomes. ASSESS—Quizzing Quizzing uses NCLEX®-style questions for assessment and remediation. Its adaptive, question-based format provides the additional practice students need to test their knowledge, master course content, and perform well on course and board exams. New To This Edition: FREE, 3-year access to Davis Advantage Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the art and science of nursing practice today Streamlined and redesigned to make the content more relevant, student friendly and easier to teach.

The concept of a "good death" has been hotly debated in medical circles for decades. This volume delves into the possibility and desirability of a "good death" by presenting the psychosocial measures of care as a crucial component, such as religion, existentialism, hope and meaning-making. The volume also focuses on oncologic psychiatry and the influence of technology as a means to alleviate pain and suffering, and potentially provide relief to those at the end of life. Such initiatives are aimed at diminishing pain and are socially bolstering and emotionally comforting to ensure a peaceful closure with life as opposed to a battle waged. Utilizing the most recent information from medical journals and books to present the latest on healthcare and dying today, this volume crosses the boundaries of thanatology, psychology, religion, spirituality, medical ethics and public health.

Midwives and other health care professionals need to have a deep understanding of the various lives childbearing women live in order to support them insightfully and practise in a nuanced manner. The Social Context of Birth has been revised, updated and enlarged to provide an essential understanding of the different lives women live and in which they birth their children. For the first time, it also contains original primary research on the perspectives of student midwives as they progress through their three year training. This comprehensive guide provides countless valuable insights into the many different lives, experiences and expectations of women in their childbearing years in the twenty-first century, especially vulnerable women. Written by a team of highly experienced health professionals, it also covers contentious areas of maternity care, such as new reproductive technologies and fetal surveillance. A true essential for all healthcare professionals who work with women giving birth, such as midwives, nurses, health visitors and obstetricians, and wish to deepen their knowledge of women's lives.

Over the last hundred years, pregnancy and childbirth has become increasingly safe - yet it is still a site of risk, and a contested ground on which health professionals and pregnant women both face high costs of error. In this context, all those involved in managing pregnancy and birth are expected to identify and mitigate risk: pregnant women are subject to increasing surveillance to ensure the safety of the unborn foetus, and every aspect of childbearing is increasingly medicalised. This publication brings together fascinating social science research to explore the ways in which risk is both created and managed in pregnancy and childbirth. The introductory chapters reflect on the changing social context of childbirth, in particular the medicalisation of both pregnancy and childbirth with development of specialist practitioners, such as obstetricians and midwives who claim to have the knowledge, technology and skills to identify and manage the risks involved. The next three chapters that examine the ways in which women's behaviour during pregnancy is constructed as potentially risky -- for example smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs, and how these risks are monitored and mitigated. The final two parts of the book address the construction of and responses to both medicalisation and risk in childbirth. Altogether, it represents a valuable insight into the complex world of pregnancy, childbirth and risk. This book brings together editorials and articles originally published in special and open issues of Health, Risk and Society.

The midwife's role is examined in the community and family-health context in this handbook on effective maternal and newborn care for midwives and other healthcare providers. The skills, competencies, and knowledge required to make informed decisions about neo- and postnatal care are covered, including anatomy and the physiology of reproduction, high-risk pregnancies, and labor and birth. Theoretical and practical issues illuminate a midwife's role in the prevention of illness in mothers and babies, with attention to the unique challenges of midwifery in developing nations. Insights from current research studies and critical questions about midwife practice will help those new to health care understand the unique challenges of this form of health-service delivery.

Despite research which highlights parents' increased anxiety and risk of attachment issues with the pregnancy that follows a perinatal loss, there is often little understanding that bereaved families may need different care in their subsequent pregnancies. This book explores the lived experience of pregnancy and parenting after a perinatal loss. Meeting the Needs of Parents Pregnant and Parenting After Perinatal Loss develops a helpful framework, which integrates continuing bonds and attachment theories, to support prenatal parenting at each stage of pregnancy. Giving insight into how a parent's world view of a pregnancy may have changed following a loss, readers are provided with tools to assist parents on their journey. The book discusses each stage of a pregnancy, as well as labor and the postpartum period, before examining subjects such as multi-fetal pregnancies, reluctant terminations, use of support groups, and the experiences of fathers and other children in the family. The chapters include up-to-date research findings, vignettes from parents reflecting on their own experiences and recommendations for practice. Written for researchers, students and professionals from a range of health, social welfare and early years education backgrounds, this text outlines what we know about supporting bereaved families encountering the challenges of a subsequent pregnancy.

This concise guide offers a comprehensive step-by-step framework for midwifery students to learn about all aspects of the newborn infant physical examination (NIPE), a screening assessment completed on all babies between 6 and 72 hours of age. The Student Guide to the Newborn Infant Physical Examination encourages the reader to approach the examination in a system-based format, with case studies and practice tips to support learning. The book offers: * Evidence-based, well-illustrated assessment tools, which take into account the national screening committee standards, and is written by authors with both academic and clinical experience; * A clear direction on how to perform the NIPE in practice while exploring the wider context of screening in healthcare today; * Coverage of the changing role of the midwife, and the importance of understanding the whole context of the mother's care, health promotion and starting the practitioner-parent conversation. The Student Guide to the Newborn Infant Physical Examination is a core text for all pre-registration midwifery students and a useful resource for qualified midwives, neonatal nurses and practice nurses.

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) was developed for all undergraduate nursing programmes, with the aim of emphasising the need for nursing students to be competent in clinical skills, to assess clinical reasoning skills and as a means of standardizing the assessment process. This practical, easy to read and interactive study guide helps nursing and midwifery students at all levels to maximise their chances of success with OSCEs. It features case studies, quick quizzes, recap and recall summaries and an OSCE preparation plan; all of which help to prepare the student for the examination. Hints and tips on what to expect during the examination and pointers on what the examiner will be looking for, together with a comprehensive chapter on personal learning will help to guide the student through the process and maximise their chances of success! "Very readable with useful tips and information for students" Cath Hill, Keele University "I found the book extremely relevant from the students' perspective, reader friendly and well structured. Quizzes and activities excellent." - Liz Day, Senior Lecturer, Nursing and Health Care Practice, University of Derby "A useful and easily digested text on this important assessment strategy", Ms. Karen Lumsden, Faculty of Nursing and Applied Clinical Studies, Canterbury Christchurch University "Useful for students as they prepare... Easy to read and understand." Kirsty Wedgbury, Faculty of Health and Community Care, Birmingham City University

Legal and ethical competence is a cornerstone of professional midwifery practice and an essential part of midwifery training. Law and Ethics for Midwifery is a unique and practical resource for student midwives. Written by an experienced midwifery lecturer, this text draws on a wide variety of real life case studies and focuses particularly on the core areas of accountability, autonomy and advocacy. Opening with two chapters providing overviews respectively of ethical theories and legislation, the book is then arranged thematically. These chapters have a common structure which includes case studies, relevant legislation, reflective activities and a summary, and they run across areas of concern from negligence through safeguarding to record-keeping. Grounded in midwifery practice, the text enables student midwives to consider and prepare for ethical and legal dilemmas they may face as midwives in clinical practice.

Care for Children Born Small for Gestational Age is a comprehensive handbook that serves to synthesize the extensive recent literature in the area to provide a practical resource aimed at a wide range of healthcare professionals, including obstetricians, midwives, neonatologists, and primary care physicians. This comprehensive handbook includes an in-depth survey of the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and long-term monitoring of children born small for gestational age, as well as related conditions such as intrauterine growth restriction, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, the short and long-term psychiatric and social consequences of this condition are addressed.

"I would recommend this book to my peers and I would use it in my day-to-day work. It is most helpful to have a comprehensive guide that can be used in a variety of care settings and by many different healthcare providers."--Doody's Medical Reviews

Evidence-based research underscores the importance of breastfeeding for the healthy development of late preterm infants, yet significant challenges can impede its success. This is a groundbreaking, problem-solving guide to the most effective techniques for breastfeeding this vulnerable population. Written for lactation consultants, NICU nurses, obstetrical nurses, and nurse-midwives, the book offers clear, simple, evidence-based solutions to the distinct breastfeeding difficulties affecting late preterm infants.

The guide describes the characteristics of late preterm infants and the physiological challenges-often invisible and overlooked by health care providers-caused by disturbances of respiratory, metabolic, neurologic, and immunologic functions. These problems are often exacerbated by poor breastfeeding and result in 13% of hospital readmissions by late preterm infants. The book examines maternal conditions that affect breastfeeding success and provides detailed, easy-to-follow instructions for the most effective breastfeeding techniques. It describes specific strategies health care professionals can take to overcome breastfeeding difficulties, including proper positioning and latch technique, the use of breast pumps and other helpful equipment, supplemental feedings, and more. Pictures that illustrate correct procedures clarify specific techniques, and user-friendly patient teaching guides further encourage successful breastfeeding. The book also supports the goals of many hospitals seeking to achieve Baby-Friendly Status, as well as the goals of the Multidisciplinary Guidelines for Care of Late Preterm Infants recently issued by the National Perinatal Association. Key Features:

Comprises the only comprehensive guide specific to the breastfeeding issues of late preterm infants Describes developmental challenges faced by late preterm infants Provides detailed, easy-to-follow instructions for breastfeeding and techniques for overcoming difficulties Offers clear, simple, evidence-based solutions that nurses, lactation consultants, and midwives can offer to mothers Supports the goals of hospitals seeking Baby-Friendly Status

Decision-making pervades all aspects of midwifery practice across the world. Midwifery is informed by a number of decision-making theories, but it is sometimes difficult to marry these theories with practice. This book provides a comprehensive exploration of decision-making for midwives irrespective of where in the world they practice or in which model of care. The first part critically reviews decision-making theories, including the Enhancing Decision-making Assessment in Midwifery (EDAM) tool, and their relevance to midwifery. It explores the links between midwifery governance, including professional regulation and the law, risk and safety and decision-making as well as how critical thinking and reflection are essential elements of decision-making. It then goes on to present a number of diverse case studies, demonstrating how they interrelate to and impact upon optimal midwifery decision-making. Each chapter presents examples that show how the theory translates into practice and includes activities to reinforce learning points. Bringing together a diverse range of contributors, this volume will be essential reading for midwifery students, practising midwives and midwifery academics.

Over the last ten years, pregnancy has not only become more complicated for many women, but the traditional provision of general intensive care units has been reduced. To bridge this gap, critical care units, usually staffed by midwives, have been set up in many maternity units. This textbook is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this emerging area of practice. Critical Care Assessment by Midwives also notably sets out a template for assessment of women that will enable early identification of deteriorating health. Serious illness can arise subsequent to an emergency, a pre-existing illness or a complication of pregnancy but can also occur in the context of what appears to be a low risk pregnancy. For this reason, all midwives need to be skilled in assessment that facilitates timely, appropriate referrals and saves lives. It covers: ABCDE assessment tailored for midwives; assessment of cardiac conditions; aassessment of respiratory conditions; assessment of neurological conditions; pre-eclampsia; haemorrhage; shock, including hypovolaemia, sepsis and anaphylaxis; haemodynamic monitoring; fluid replacement and balance; ketoacidosis, hypoglycaemia and sickle cell crisis. Covering the context of care, relevant pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, specific assessment in detail, relevant drugs, assessment of the fetus, summaries of management, psychosocial support and the specific professional responsibilities of the midwife, this is an essential guide for all midwives and midwifery students.

Making good nutritional choices can mean women optimise the outcomes of their birthing experience and offer their babies the best possible start in life. To support this, all health professionals who work with women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period need to have an appropriate knowledge of nutrition, healthy eating and other food related issues. This evidence-based text provides an informative and accessible introduction to nutrition in pregnancy and childbirth. As well as allowing readers to recognise when nutritional deficiency may be creating challenges, it explores the psychosocial and cultural context of food and considers their relevance for women's eating behaviour. Finally, important emerging issues, such as eating during labour, food supplements and maternal obesity, are discussed. An important reference for health professionals working in midwifery or public health contexts especially, this book is also the ideal companion for a course on nutrition in pregnancy and childbirth.

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a questionnaire and was designed as a simple means of screening for postnatal depression in health care settings. The scale is now in use around the world and this book is a practical guide to using the scale in clinical practice, its origins and development background. This second edition has been revised and contains much advice based on years of experience. All chapters and references have been updated and the chapters on screening and counselling have been considerably revised, the evidence base on interventions for perinatal depression is provided, plus details of innovative methods such as internet-based therapy. The scale can also be used by researchers seeking information on factors which influence the emotional well-being of new mothers and their families and guidance is also given on use of the scale in research settings. The book will be useful for psychologists, psychiatrists, health visitors, midwives, family doctors, obstetricians and community psychiatric nurses, plus researchers in perinatal health.

Supporting Women to Give Birth at Home describes and discusses the main challenges and issues that midwives and maternity services encounter when preparing for and attending a home birth. To ensure that a home birth is a real option for women, midwives need to be able to believe in a woman's ability to give birth at home and to promote this birth option, providing evidence-based information about benefits and risks. This practical guide will help midwives to have the necessary skills, resources and confidence to support homebirth. The book includes: the present birth choices a woman has the implications homebirth has upon midwifery practice how midwives can prepare and support women and their families the midwife's role and responsibilities national and local policies, guidelines and available resources pain management options With a range of recent home birth case studies brought together in the final chapter, this accessible text provides a valuable insight into those considering homebirth. Supporting Women to Give Birth at Home will be of interest to students studying issues around normal birth and will be an important resource for clinically based midwives, in particular community based midwives, home birth midwifery teams, independent midwives, and all who are interested in homebirth as a genuine choice.

Most aged in India are experiencing a highly protracted death in hospitals, entangled in tubes and machines. Such 'medicalised death' entails huge psychological, social and financial costs for both patients and their caregivers. There are also many who are dying in abject neglect. However, Government response to end-of-life care has been almost negligible and there is an acute information deficit on dying matters. This book examines different settings where elderly die, including hospitals, family homes and palliative set-ups. The discourse is set in the backdrop of international attempts to restructure and reconfigure the health delivery system for ageing population. It makes critical commentaries on global developments, offers state-of-art reviews of recent advances, substantiates and corroborates facts by personal narratives and case histories. The book overcomes a segmental understanding of the field by weaving various sociological, medical, legal and cultural issues together. Finally, the authors critically examine biomedicine's potential to meet the complex needs of the dying elderly. In an attempt to bring cultural sensitivity in end-of-life care, they explore the lost Indic 'art of dying' which has the potential to de- medicalise death. Increasing public sensitivity to poor dying conditions of the elderly in India and facilitating changes to improve care systems, this book also demonstrates the limitations of the western specialization of death. It will be of interest to academics in the field of Medical Sociology/Anthropology, Medicine, Palliative care, Public Health and Social Work, Social Policy and Asian Studies.

This workbook addresses the vital questions helpers, responders, and organizations have about self-care and its relationship to resilience and sustained effectiveness in the midst of daily exposure to trauma victims and or situations. Packed with activities, worksheets, and interactive learning tools, the text provides neuro-based and trauma-sensitive recommendations for improving the ways clinicians care for themselves. Each 'session' helps clinicians identify their personal self-care needs and arrive at an effective self-care plan that promotes resilience in the face of daily exposure to trauma-inducing situations and reduces the effects of compassion fatigue and burnout. Reducing Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Burnout is an essential workbook for any helper or organization looking to enhance compassionate care.

'The Muslim Mother Teresa' Huffington Post Imprisonment. Mutilation. Persecution. Edna Adan Ismail endured it all - for the women of Africa. A Woman of Firsts tells the inspirational story of a remarkable daughter, nurse and First Lady. The indomitable Edna Adan Ismail survived imprisonment, persecution, and civil war to become a pioneering politician, a leading light in the World Health Organisation, and a global campaigner for women's rights. The eldest child of an overworked doctor in the British Protectorate of Somaliland, Edna was the first midwife in Somaliland, she campaigned tirelessly for better healthcare for women and fought for women on a global stage as the first female Foreign Minister of her country. But mixing with presidents and princes, she still never forgot her roots and continued to deliver children and train midwives - a role she has to this day. At 81 years old, she still runs what is hailed as the Horn of Africa's finest university hospital where she trains future generations and still delivers babies. After all - as she puts it - she is simply a midwife.

In How to Run Reflective Practice Groups: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals, Arabella Kurtz explores the use of reflective practice in the modern healthcare context. Responding to the rapidly increasing demand for reflective practice groups in healthcare and drawing on her extensive experience as a facilitator and trainer, Kurtz presents a fully developed, eight-stage model: The Intersubjective Model of Reflective Practice Groups. The book offers a guide to the organisation, structure and delivery of group sessions, with useful suggestions for overcoming commonly-encountered problems and promoting empathic relationships with clients and colleagues. Clearly and accessibly written, using full situational examples for each stage of the presented model, How to Run Reflective Practice Groups offers a comprehensive guide to facilitating reflective practice in healthcare.

Qualitative research, particularly phenomenology, is increasingly popular as a method for midwifery and health-related research. These approaches enable rich and detailed explanations to be uncovered and bring experience to life. Important recommendations and practice- based implications may then be raised and debated for future use. This book brings together a range of phenomenological methods and insights into one accessible text.

Illustrated with plenty of examples of successful phenomenological research, Qualitative Research in Midwifery and Childbirth keeps the focus applied to midwifery and childbirth and makes clear the links to practice throughout. The book introduces three key phenomenological approaches - descriptive, interpretive and the life world - and includes a comparative chapter which discusses the differences between these varied perspectives and methods. Each chapter focuses on how these approaches are used within midwifery research. The remaining chapters present a number of different research projects. These demonstrate how different phenomenological approaches have been used to explore and uncover experiences of childbirth and maternity as well as offering important insights into how women experience different facets of the birth experience during the antenatal, intra-partum and postnatal period.

Designed for researchers and students undertaking research projects on midwifery and childbirth, this text includes contributions from a range of international and highly regarded phenomenological authors and researchers.

Nurses typically go in to the profession of nursing because they want to "care" for patients, not knowing that the inherent stresses of the work environment put them at risk for developing psychological disorders such as burnout syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. Symptoms of these disorders are often debilitating and affect the nurse's functioning on both a personal and professional level. While environmental and/or organizational strategies are important to help combat stress, oftentimes the triggers experienced by nurses are non-modifiable including patient deaths, prolonging life in futile conditions, delivering post-mortem care and the feeling of contributing to a patient's pain and suffering. It is paramount that nurses enhance their ability to adapt to their work environment. Resilience is a multidimensional psychological characteristic that enables one to thrive in the face of adversity and bounce back from hardships and trauma. Importantly, resilience can be learned. Factors that promote resilience include attention to physical well-being and development of adaptive coping skills. This book provides the nurse, and the administrators who manage them, with an overview of the psychological disorders that are prevalent in their profession, first-person narratives from nurses who share traumatic and/or stressful situations that have impacted their career and provide detailed descriptions of promising coping strategies that can be used to mitigate symptoms of distress.

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) was developed for all undergraduate nursing programmes, with the aim of emphasising the need for nursing students to be competent in clinical skills, to assess clinical reasoning skills and as a means of standardizing the assessment process. This practical, easy to read and interactive study guide helps nursing and midwifery students at all levels to maximise their chances of success with OSCEs. It features case studies, quick quizzes, recap and recall summaries and an OSCE preparation plan; all of which help to prepare the student for the examination. Hints and tips on what to expect during the examination and pointers on what the examiner will be looking for, together with a comprehensive chapter on personal learning will help to guide the student through the process and maximise their chances of success! "Very readable with useful tips and information for students" Cath Hill, Keele University "I found the book extremely relevant from the students' perspective, reader friendly and well structured. Quizzes and activities excellent." - Liz Day, Senior Lecturer, Nursing and Health Care Practice, University of Derby "A useful and easily digested text on this important assessment strategy", Ms. Karen Lumsden, Faculty of Nursing and Applied Clinical Studies, Canterbury Christchurch University"Useful for students as they prepare... Easy to read and understand." Kirsty Wedgbury, Faculty of Health and Community Care, Birmingham City University

The Sunday Times bestseller 'Delivering my first baby is a memory that will stay with me forever. Just feeling the warmth of a newborn head in your hands, that new life, there's honestly nothing like it... I've since brought more than 2,200 babies into the world, and I still tingle with excitement every time.' It's the summer of 1968 and St Mary's Maternity Hospital in Manchester is a place from a bygone age. It is filled with starched white hats and full skirts, steaming laundries and milk kitchens, strict curfews and bellowed commands. It is a time of homebirths, swaddling and dangerous anaesthetics. It was this world that Linda Fairley entered as a trainee midwife aged just 19 years old. From the moment Linda delivered her first baby - racing across rain-splattered Manchester street on her trusty moped in the dead of night - Linda knew she'd found her vocation. 'The midwife's here!' they always exclaimed, joined in their joyful chorus by relieved husbands, mothers, grandmothers and whoever else had found themselves in close proximity to a woman about to give birth. Under the strict supervision of community midwife Mrs Tattershall, Linda's gruellingly long days were spent on overcrowded wards pinning Terry nappies, making up bottles and sterilizing bedpans - and above all helping women in need. Her life was a succession of emergencies, successes and tragedies: a never-ending chain of actions which made all the difference between life and death. There was Mrs Petty who gave birth in heartbreaking poverty; Mrs Drew who confided to Linda that the triplets she was carrying were not in fact her husband's; and Muriel Turner, whose dangerously premature baby boy survived - against all the odds. Forty years later Linda's passion for midwifery burns as bright as ever as she is now celebrated as one of Britain's longest-serving midwives, still holding the lives of mothers and children in her own two hands. Rich in period detail and told with a good dose of Manchester humour, The Midwife's Here! is the extraordinary, heartwarming tale of a truly inspiring woman.