The right for every woman to have a 'natural' birth has been recognized for many years, yet surgical interventions continue to rise and, paradoxically, complaints and the degree of litigation for disappointing labor outcomes escalate. Proactive Support of Labor enhances professional skills by providing the expertise for preventing long labors - the root-cause of traumatic birth experiences and the cesarean pandemic. Step-by-step, evidence-based guidance on expert care and support during labor is given. Emphasis is placed on pre-labor education, personal attention, and well-defined birth planning - including strict diagnoses and timely corrective measures in abnormal labor - and constant audit of all procedures and outcomes. Striking a new balance between natural birth and intervention, and invariably enhancing women's satisfaction with the childbirth experience, the fully updated revision of this groundbreaking work will be essential reading for obstetricians, midwives, nurses, and trainees. For peer and reader reviews of the first edition see: www.proactivesupportoflabor.com.

""This will be a great revision tool ... Each type of question is used to enhance the development of the student by self assessment of their knowledge and understanding of the relevant anatomy and physiology and the application to practice ... I will strongly recommend this excellent text to all student midwives."
Nan Morse, Professional Head of Midwifery Education, University of Glamorgan, UK

"The Midwifery Textbook is a valuable and unique resource to midwifery ... It tests existing knowledge in complex situations whilst building upon earlier foundations ... The variety of question types available make learning and revision fun, whilst providing ideas for creative learning opportunities."
Patricia Walker, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery and Child Health, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK"

Looking for a quick and effective way to revise and test your knowledge?

This handy reference book is the essential self test resource to help student midwives to revise and prepare for their anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology exams.

This useful test book includes over 450 questions relating to your midwifery course, and includes a variety of question types including multiple choice, short answers, true and false and fill in the blanks. All the questions have detailed answers for self checking.

The book encourages you to test and improve your knowledge of numeracy and pharmacology. Topics covered include: Anatomy and physiology of pre-conception Pregnancy and post-partum Pathophysiology, illness and complications "The Midwifery Test Book" is a quick and easy reference book for students undertaking midwifery courses, to help them excel in their exams

The greatest postnatal killer of the nineteenth century was puerperal fever. A vicious and usually fatal form of septicaemia, puerperal or childbed fever was known to occur in maternity hospitals far more frequently than at home births, and to spread faster in crowded wards than in those with fewer patients. Its cause was unknown. In this precise statistical analysis of the facts, gathered from several sources across the major cities of Europe, Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) explores the mystery of puerperal fever and its possible causes. She stresses the necessity of good ventilation in hospitals, condemning those with overcrowded wards, and cites instances where the layout of wards has a noticeable correlation with the number of deaths. Published in 1871, just before Pasteur's work on germ theory proved that the problem could be all but eradicated if doctors washed their hands more rigorously, this work remains clear, scholarly and engaging.

Caring for the well newborn is an essential element of everyday midwifery practice. Providing a comprehensive guide to the problems associated with newborn babies, Care of the Newborn by Ten Teachers is a key textbook for trainee midwives. The ten teachers involved in writing this book are drawn from all over the UK and bring together a wealth of experience in midwifery and neonatal nursing teaching and practice. The emphasis is on caring for the normal neonate, with deviations from the normal threaded throughout. Taking a holistic approach, each chapter links theory and practice, with explicit reference to professional standards and guidelines. As well as infant feeding, skin care and thernal care practice, this book covers signs and causes of common problems such as jaundice, infections, respiratory problems, and birth injury, providing care and treatment strategies for the neonate and family. This easy-to-follow full colour design, with superb diagrams and photographs and helpful features such as key points, case histories and chapters overviews, makes this essential reading for all student midwives, as well as those on post-qualifying courses in neonatal care. It is also a useful reference for practising midwives and neonatal nurses.

This book is a comprehensive and detailed study of early modern midwives in seventeenth-century London. Until quite recently, midwives, as a group, have been dismissed by historians as being inadequately educated and trained for the task of child delivery. The Midwives of Seventeenth-Century London rejects these claims by exploring the midwives' training and their licensing in an unofficial apprenticeship by the Church. Dr Evenden also offers an accurate depiction of the midwives in their socioeconomic context by examining a wide range of seventeenth-century sources. This expansive study not only recovers the names of almost one thousand women who worked as midwives in the twelve London parishes, but also brings to light details about their spouses, their families and their associates.

When the midwife Jane Sharp wrote the Midwives Book in 1671, she became the first British woman to publish a midwifery manual. Drawing on works by her male contemporaries, and weaving together medical information and lively anecdotes, she produced a book that is instructive, accessible, witty, and constantly surprising.

Myles Pocket Reference for Midwives is a brand new resource that offers readers a ready source of up-to-date information at the fingertips! Well illustrated with over 100 figures, tables and pull-out boxes, this slim pocket guide includes a wealth of information ranging from physical examination to drug calculations, antenatal investigations, screening, infant feeding, medical complications of pregnancy, and birth emergencies. Myles Pocket Reference for Midwives will be ideal for all midwives - whether qualified or in training. Helpful bullet point style enables rapid access to essential information Splash proof cover ensures durability Rich illustrative programme enables rapid access to key information

The second edition of the popular Midwifery Essentials series continues to help readers understand and master a range of core issues safely and with confidence! Written by leading midwifery academics, each book in the series provides a user-friendly source of information which has been fully updated throughout to reflect the latest evidence-base for current practice. Now with an improved design to make learning as easy as possible, each paperback in the series focuses on the importance of communication and contemporary women-centred care and presents helpful 'scenarios' to encourage debate and reflection. The Midwifery Essentials series is ideal for all midwives - whether qualified or in training - and is also helpful to nurses and HCAs working in the maternity environment. Fully updated to provide a useful, friendly source of information Strong focus on contemporary women-centred care Designed to stimulate debate and reflection upon current practice, local policies and procedures Scenarios enable practitioners to understand the context of maternity care and explore their role in safe and effective service provision Helpful 'jigsaw' approach enables readers to explore specific topics from a variety of perspectives e.g. consent, safety and health promotion Explains the professional and legal issues surrounding clinical procedures Chapters designed to be read as a 'standalone' or in succession Emphasises the crucial role of effective communication Makes reference to the latest national and international guidelines Contains new scenarios to reflect recent changes in practice Improved layout aids retention and learning Fully updated throughout with the latest evidence base for clinical skills and procedures Embraces the principles of 'Better Births'

Evidence-based care is a well established principle in contemporary healthcare and a worldwide health care movement. However, despite the emphasis on promoting evidence-based or effective care without the unnecessary use of technologies and drugs, intervention rates in childbirth continue to rise rapidly. This new edition emphasises the importance of translating evidence into skilful practice. It updates the evidence around what works best for normal birth, aspects of which still remain hidden and ignored by some maternity care professionals. Beginning with the decision about where to have a baby, through all the phases of labour to the immediate post-birth period, it systematically details research and other evidence sources that endorse a low intervention approach. The second edition: has been expanded with new chapters on Preparation for Childbirth and Waterbirth highlights where the evidence is compelling discusses its application where women question its relevance to them and where the practitioner's expertise leads them to challenge it gives background and context before discussing the research to date includes questions for reflection, skills sections and practice recommendations generated from the evidence. Using evidence drawn from a variety of sources, Evidence and Skills for Normal Labour and Birth critiques institutionalised, scientifically managed birth and endorses a more humane midwifery-led model. Packed with up-to-date and relevant information, this text will help all students, practising midwives and doulas keep abreast of the evidence surrounding normal birth and ensure their practice takes full advantage of it.

A fascinating slice of social history - Jennifer Worth's tales of being a midwife in 1950s London, now a major BBC TV series. Jennifer Worth came from a sheltered background when she became a midwife in the Docklands in the 1950s. The conditions in which many women gave birth just half a century ago were horrifying, not only because of their grimly impoverished surroundings, but also because of what they were expected to endure. But while Jennifer witnessed brutality and tragedy, she also met with amazing kindness and understanding, tempered by a great deal of Cockney humour. She also earned the confidences of some whose lives were truly stranger, more poignant and more terrifying than could ever be recounted in fiction. Attached to an order of nuns who had been working in the slums since the 1870s, Jennifer tells the story not only of the women she treated, but also of the community of nuns (including one who was accused of stealing jewels from Hatton Garden) and the camaraderie of the midwives with whom she trained. Funny, disturbing and incredibly moving, Jennifer's stories bring to life the colourful world of the East End in the 1950s.

The new edition of this popular paperback continues to offer student midwives with a wealth of information about the key medical conditions seen during pregnancy and childbirth. Each disorder - which has been selected because of its commonality or potential seriousness to health - is accompanied by a clear description of the associated anatomy and physiology thereby affording the reader with a clear understanding of the presenting complaint. Containing almost 60 carefully reproduced line diagrams and an abundance of tables and 'pull out' boxes, this friendly, accessible volume explores the epidemiology of each disease, and its impact on maternal and child health. Relevant physiological changes in pregnancy are also provided, together with a clear discussion of associated pathophysiology. Throughout the book, prenatal, intra-partum and postnatal management advice is given, with particular emphasis given to the care of the acutely ill patient and medical emergencies. The Midwives' Guide to Key Medical Conditions is designed to help practitioners manage pregnancy and childbirth in women with systemic disease, recognize the early onset of disease-related pregnancy complications, and determine when it may be necessary to refer patients to another member of the healthcare team. The volume will ideal for all midwives, whether qualified or in training. Written by well-known authorities in the field to ensure that the information is perfectly tailored to the midwifery student Accessible writing style and clear artwork program helps make learning easy Recaps on the underlying anatomy and physiology for the relevant body system Explains the normal physiological changes that occur during pregnancy Summarises the relative risk of the specific disorder in the context of overall maternal mortality Explains the pathophysiology of a given condition, with emphasis on its impact on pregnancy Explores the relevant management the neonate and the likely impact of the medical disorder on future pregnancies Places particular emphasis on the management of critical illness and medical emergencies Risk management and the use of pathways of care Management of obesity Sepsis and infectious diseases Additional pre-existing chronic disorders

Provide competent and sensitive maternal and newborn nursing care with Clinical Companion for Maternity & Newborn Nursing, 2nd Edition! Ideal for quick reference in the clinical setting, this book offers the information you need on topics such as pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum care, and care of the newborn, including potential complications for each. Expert authors Dr. Shannon E. Perry, Kitty Cashion, Dr. Deitra Leonard Lowdermilk, and Kathryn R. Alden stress the importance of safe nursing practice as outlined in the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative. Teaching for Self-Management boxes offer a guide to communicating follow-up care to patients and their families. Signs of Potential Complications boxes help you recognize the signs and symptoms of complications and provide immediate interventions. Procedure boxes offer easy-to-use, step-by-step instructions for maternity skills and procedures. Emergency boxes may be used for quick reference in critical situations. Nursing Alerts highlight critical information that must be considered when providing care. Medication Guides in an appendix provide a key reference for common drugs and their interactions. Updated content provides the most current practice guidelines, including expanded information on obesity, the late preterm infant, and fetal heart rate pattern identification. Safety Alerts highlight developing competencies related to safe nursing practice in conjunction with the QSEN initiative on quality and safety in nursing care.

A new addition to the popular Midwifery Essentials series which continues to help readers understand and master a range of core issues safely and with confidence! Written by leading midwifery academics, each book in the series provides a user-friendly source of information which has been fully updated throughout to reflect the latest evidence-base for current practice. Now with an improved design to make learning as easy as possible, each paperback in the series focuses on the importance of communication and contemporary women-centred care and presents helpful 'scenarios' to encourage debate and reflection. The Midwifery Essentials series is ideal for all midwives - whether qualified or in training - and is also helpful to nurses and HCAs working in the maternity environment. Provides a useful, friendly source of information Strong focus on contemporary women-centred care Designed to stimulate debate and reflection upon current practice, local policies and procedures Scenarios enable practitioners to understand the context of maternity care and explore their role in safe and effective service provision Helpful 'jigsaw' approach enables readers to explore specific topics from a variety of perspectives e.g. consent, safety and health promotion Explains the professional and legal issues surrounding clinical procedures Chapters designed to be read as a 'standalone' or in succession Emphasises the crucial role of effective communication

The second edition of the popular Midwifery Essentials series continues to help readers understand and master a range of core issues safely and with confidence! Written by leading midwifery academics, each book in the series provides a user-friendly source of information which has been fully updated throughout to reflect the latest evidence-base for current practice. Now with an improved design to make learning as easy as possible, each paperback in the series focuses on the importance of communication and contemporary women-centred care and presents helpful 'scenarios' to encourage debate and reflection. The Midwifery Essentials series is ideal for all midwives - whether qualified or in training - and is also helpful to nurses and HCAs working in the maternity environment. Fully updated to provide a useful, friendly source of information Strong focus on contemporary women-centred care Designed to stimulate debate and reflection upon current practice, local policies and procedures Scenarios enable practitioners to understand the context of maternity care and explore their role in safe and effective service provision Helpful 'jigsaw' approach enables readers to explore specific topics from a variety of perspectives e.g. consent, safety and health promotion Explains the professional and legal issues surrounding clinical procedures Chapters designed to be read as a 'standalone' or in succession Emphasises the crucial role of effective communication Makes reference to the latest national and international guidelines Contains new scenarios to reflect recent changes in practice Improved layout aids retention and learning Fully updated throughout with the latest evidence base for clinical skills and procedures Embraces the principles of 'Better Births'

The second edition of the popular Midwifery Essentials series continues to help readers understand and master a range of core issues safely and with confidence! Written by leading midwifery academics, each book in the series provides a user-friendly source of information which has been fully updated throughout to reflect the latest evidence-base for current practice. Now with an improved design to make learning as easy as possible, each paperback in the series focuses on the importance of communication and contemporary women-centred care and presents helpful 'scenarios' to encourage debate and reflection. The Midwifery Essentials series is ideal for all midwives - whether qualified or in training - and is also helpful to nurses and HCAs working in the maternity environment. Fully updated to provide a useful, friendly source of information Strong focus on contemporary women-centred care Designed to stimulate debate and reflection upon current practice, local policies and procedures Scenarios enable practitioners to understand the context of maternity care and explore their role in safe and effective service provision Helpful 'jigsaw' approach enables readers to explore specific topics from a variety of perspectives e.g. consent, safety and health promotion Explains the professional and legal issues surrounding clinical procedures Chapters designed to be read as a 'standalone' or in succession Emphasises the crucial role of effective communication Makes reference to the latest national and international guidelines Contains new scenarios to reflect recent changes in practice Improved layout aids retention and learning Fully updated throughout with the latest evidence base for clinical skills and procedures Embraces the principles of 'Better Births'

"This book is easy to read and has relevant content for student midwives, with inclusion of reflective activities which are clear and appropriate. I particularly like the vignette's which are relevant and explore the challenges that midwives face. The script-like format of these adds a further layer to the narratives, and the inclusion of non-verbal communication as well is excellent. This will be an essential text for all student midwives." Mary Beadle, Midwifery Lecturer, Faculty of Health and Social Care, University of Hull, UK"Communication Skills for Midwives is a unique book that focuses not only on fundamental communication issues, but goes much further by including the many difficult and tricky issues experienced within contemporary midwifery practice. This much needed text provides detailed and comprehensive information which is reinforced by illustrations, vignettes and activities that engage the reader from the beginning. This is an excellent resource for students, practitioners and educators." Nicky Clark, Lead Midwife for Education, University of Hull, UK "This book covers many poignant examples of difficult and challenging communication that midwives face in everyday practice ... It covers both every day aspects of care such as facilitating choice and less common experiences like responding to domestic violence ... This book is unique and would be good bedtime reading for any midwife!" Tandy Deane-Grey, Senior Midwifery Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire, UK "This comprehensive and reader friendly text ... utilises a variety of strategies to aid understanding and application to practice. Each chapter has clear aims to address a challenging situation that readers will readily identify with and provides an excellent mix of vignettes, reflective activities, text and diagrams to support the development of knowledge and skills ..." Heather Passmore, Senior Lecturer, UCS, UKThis is the first book on communication skills to explore the more challenging contexts and circumstances that midwives encounter in practice. As these occur infrequently and often unexpectedly in the daily practice of many midwives, they may find it difficult to communicate effectively to alleviate the situation. Knowing what to say and how to say it is part of this dilemma.The book uses case vignettes, reflective questions, illustrations, tools and techniques to provide the evidence base needed to cope effectively in a range of situations by offering support to enhance your communication skills.Communication Skills for Midwives explores challenges relating to: Negotiating with others within inter-professional and inter-agency teams Working with minority groupsBreaking significant news when labour threatens the life of a baby Telling parents that their baby has an abnormalityCoping with loss and bereavement Addressing issues of domestic abuse Importantly the book provides information on how thoughts and feelings may be expressed both through body language and in words. Taking a practical and problem solving approach, the book will help you to enhance your learning and improve interaction with your colleagues, the women you care for and their families.

This evidence-based guide for professionals covers essential information to help support parents breastfeeding past the first six months, including starting solids alongside breastfeeding, nursing manners, and common problems and challenges. The recommendation of breastfeeding beyond six months is well-established, but many birth professionals don't feel confident enough to support parents. This book, packed with case studies of real-life parents and practical tips, helps to educate healthcare professionals - as well as parents themselves - to feel better informed. Each chapter combines professional, research-led evidence with a parent-focused resource section for a fully integrative approach. Centring families and their personal journeys, Supporting Breastfeeding Past the First Six Months and Beyond is an invaluable guide for all lactation consultants, birthing professionals, healthcare workers and parents.

The Top 10 Bestseller.For fans of Call The Midwife!A fresh start... Midwife Ella Mehenick left the small Cornish town of Port Agnes for London and never looked back. But when her seemingly perfect life crashes down around her, there's only one place she can heal her battered heart - the place she once called home. A new arrival... Ella is quickly welcomed into the small community midwife team and loves her new job caring for mums and their precious babies - it's what she does best! But being back also means facing ex-flame Dan Ferguson...the first man to break her heart. A second chance at love? Dan is still as gorgeous as ever, but he's never forgiven Ella for leaving. And now she's back it's clear that there is unfinished business between them. As Ella settles into her new/old life, she can't stop the memories of how she once loved Dan so completely - and maybe never stopped. Maybe coming home to Cornwall is Ella's chance to love again... Meet The Cornish Midwives of Port Agnes- where community, friendship and love are always delivered. An uplifting and escapist read, perfect for fans of Christie Barlow, Jessica Redland and Holly Martin! What readers are saying about The Cornish Midwife...'I love second chance stories. I love returning home stories. So a book combining both is an absolute winner for me. The Cornish Midwife is simply gorgeous. Stunning setting, wonderful characters, and oozing with warmth. A triumph from Jo Bartlett and a cracking start to what promises to be a fabulous series' Jessica Redland 'Perfectly written and set in the beating heart of a community, this story is a wonderful slice of Cornish escapism.' Helen J Rolfe This book was previously published as Return to Port Agnes.

A midwife's heartwarming and inspirational true story Catching Babies is a moving account of an extraordinary career. It reveals the unique experiences that filled midwife Sheena Byrom's days as she looked after mums and dads and helped to bring their precious babies into the world. From her very first day as a nervous student nurse in Blackburn to the dedicated completion of her midwifery qualifications in Burnley, Sheena has never once looked back, enjoying a thirty-five-year career with the NHS. At the forefront of evolving medical practices, she was the first midwife to oversee a home water birth in her area, but also found herself at the centre of a traumatic delivery that tested her to her limits. Yet, whatever has come Sheena's way, ultimately, there are the strong mothers who taught her so much and the little miracles who have made every single moment as a midwife truly magical.

A fascinating slice of East End life, from the No.1 bestsellilng author of CALL THE MIDWIFE, soon to be a major BBC TV series. In this follow up to CALL THE MIDWIFE, Jennifer Worth, a midwife working in the docklands area of East London in the 1950s tells more stories about the people she encountered. There's Jane, who cleaned and generally helped out at Nonnatus House - she was taken to the workhouse as a baby and was allegedly the illegitimate daughter of an aristocrat. Peggy and Frank's parents both died within 6 months of each other and the children were left destitute. At the time, there was no other option for them but the workhouse. The Reverend Thornton-Appleby-Thorton, a missionary in Africa, visits the Nonnatus nuns and Sister Julienne acts as matchmaker. And Sister Monica Joan, the eccentric ninety-year-old nun, is accused of shoplifting some small items from the local market. She is let off with a warning, but then Jennifer finds stolen jewels from Hatton Garden in the nun's room. These stories give a fascinating insight into the resilience and spirit that enabled ordinary people to overcome their difficulties.

All cardiologists will be called on to assess and manage pregnant women, however the majority have had little or no training in the subject. In the same way, obstetricians assess women with cardiac conditions, and therefore require the knowledge to both refer patients with heart disease as well as to manage them through the pregnancy. However a recent enquiry into maternal deaths has highlighted that morbidity and mortality of women with heart disease in pregnancy has continued to increase over the last 15 years and substandard care has been identified in 40% of cases. Recommendations have been made that women with, or at risk of, heart disease are screened and counselled on the appropriate risks of undergoing a pregnancy, and as a result all physicians involved need a good understanding of the subject and access to the relevant information.
A concise handbook written for cardiology and obstetric trainees and consultants, as well as specialist nurses and midwives, Heart Disease in Pregnancy provides a detailed introduction to the physiological changes of pregnancy and gives practical advice on the management of women with heart disease who are pregnant or who are considering pregnancy. It also provides the relevant obstetric knowledge and processes needed for a cardiologist to successfully manage a pregnant woman.

This textbook is written in line with the Council of International Neonatal Nurses, Inc. (COINN) vision for global unity for neonatal nursing. The core values and goals of COINN are based on excellence and advocacy for high quality newborn care, as well as respecting diversity by integrating cultural norms and values among the care of newborns and their families. The book promotes neonatal nursing as a global speciality through evidence, research, and education of neonatal nurses; and offers key examples of the millennium goals and global outcomes, as well as variations in outcomes for babies. The first part focuses on global perspectives of neonatal nursing from different continents aligning with the World Health Organizations' global regions: (The Americas -USA, Canada and South America-, Western Pacific region -Australia and New Zealand-, European region -UK and Europe-, African region, South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean region. For each region, education and competencies, challenges and opportunities, research and evidence-based practice (EBP) as well as practice regulations are described. The second part elaborates on key topics for neonatal nursing across the globe, such as the continuity of neonatal care in the community, patient and family centered care in neonatal settings, sleep and brain development, the fundamental care needs of the neonate and family and global perspectives on hypothermia, hypoglycaemia and hypoxia. Written in a formal academic but reader style, using key literature and evidence, this textbook enables an understanding from a large audience with academic levels and experience, both staff and students, bedside nurses, advanced practice nurses, midwifes and allied professionals. In addition, first person story based reflective narrative are interspersed throughout the book to capture the perspectives of nurses, staff and parents, in the form of vignettes. This textbook is aimed at neonatal nurses across the world as well as current and aspiring students in this field.