This groundbreaking book takes us around the world in search of birth models that work in order to improve the standard of care for mothers and families everywhere. The contributors describe examples of maternity services from both developing countries and wealthy industrialized societies that apply the latest scientific evidence to support and facilitate normal physiological birth; deal appropriately with complications; and, generate excellent birth outcomes - including psychological satisfaction for the mother. The book concludes with a description of the ideology that underlies all these working models - known internationally as the midwifery model of care.

The role of traditional midwives varies across cultures and at different times and even today these traditional practitioners attend the majority of deliveries in rural areas in developing countries. According to WHO, each year 45 million births occur at home without skilled health personnel. Skilled attendants assist in more than 99% of births in more developed countries, versus 62% in developing countries. In many rural and periurban communities, the perinatal care that traditional midwives offer is generally profoundly rooted in the local culture and collectively valuated as the result of hand-on experience. There is little doubt that traditional midwives play an important role when it comes to cultural competence, empathy and psychosocial support at birth with important benefits for the mother and the new-born baby. This book discusses global perspectives, practices and challenges involved in midwifery.

Due to ethical issues surrounding data collection in the field of healthcare, students areno longer able to undertake their own empirical research. This book is written for nursing and midwifery students completing a research project based on reviewing published literature and using secondary data. It de-mystifies the concept of literature review methodology and supports students writing up their dissertation, thesis or work-based learning project.

The book provides step-by-step guidance on:

- Identifying a research problem

- Qualitative and quantitative research design

- Literature searching

- Ethical considerations

- Analysis of secondary data

- Writing your dissertation

Through its discussion of non-empirical methods, the book also prepares students for future empirical research by providing examples of best practice in healthcare research. The book is essential reading for undergraduates and postgraduates who want to succeed in their nursing or midwifery research project.

Un grand nombre de renseignements errones circulent au sujet de la consommation de medicaments, de drogues et d'alcool pendant la grossesse et l'allaitement. Les fournisseurs de soins de sante ont le devoir de connaitre les veritables risques et avantages, pour la mere et son bebe, de continuer ou de cesser de prendre un medicament ou une autre substance. Or, les fournisseurs de soins ne sont pas toujours outilles pour donner les conseils les plus judicieux aux femmes qui sont enceintes ou allaitent et qui sont exposees a des psychotropes. -Y a-t-il des moments ou l'on peut consommer de l'alcool sans danger pendant l'allaitement ? -Quels risques court le bebe d'une femme qui consomme du cannabis pendant la grossesse ou l'allaitement ? -Le tabagisme a-t-il des effets differents pendant la grossesse et l'allaitement ? -Quel est l'effet de la cocaine sur le foetus ou le nouveau-ne ? -Si une femme cesse de prendre un antidepresseur lorsqu'elle tombe enceinte, quelles seront les repercussions sur elle-meme et le foetus ? -Une femme peut-elle allaiter sans danger si elle prend de la codeine ? Le document Exposition aux psychotropes et a d'autres substances pendant la grossesse et l'allaitement: Ressource pour les fournisseurs de soins de sante est une source pratique de renseignements et de recommandations fondes sur l'experience clinique concernant ces questions et beaucoup d'autres. Il est destine aux medecins de premier recours, aux psychiatres, aux pharmaciens, aux obstetriciens, aux sages femmes, aux infirmieres hygienistes et aux infirmieres praticiennes. Cette ressource: -decrit en detail les proprietes et les effets de nombreux psychotropes et autres substances, et recommande des facons de conseiller les femmes qui prennent ces substances; -dissipe les mythes couramment associes a l'exposition aux drogues pendant la grossesse et l'allaitement; -aborde les grands principes du travail clinique aupres de femmes enceintes ou qui allaitent et qui font usage de psychotropes ou d'autres substances; -passe en revue les concepts de toxicomanie, de dependance et d'abus; -propose des outils de depistage et examine les meilleures pratiques dans ce domaine; -explore le role therapeutique important des professionnels de la sante aupres des femmes qui souhaitent modifier leur style de vie et ameliorer leur sante et celle de leur bebe.

A research-based, up-to-the minute account of the current status of antenatal education, focusing on the key challenges it faces in the future, offering suggestions for how these challenges might best be met. It describes some innovative approaches to accessing vulnerable groups of parents and how collaboration between the statutory and voluntary sectors might result in a better educational service for pregnant women and their families. Narratives from parents are analysed and commented upon, and underpinning the book will be an account of how the principles and practices of adult education should inform antenatal education. Demonstrates the potential for antenatal education to make a positive impact on women's experience of birth Points the way to accessing new sources of funding for antenatal classes Illustrates new teaching strategies with the aim of accessing groups of parents currently not involved with antenatal education Aims to show how antenatal education can be a central, rather than peripheral part of the holistic care provided to pregnant women and their families

This work provides insight into the subjective experience of stillbirth, miscarriage and pregnancy, and the professional response. It has grown out of interviews with women and with the range of health professionals who were significant in their care. These experiences are drawn upon to explore the dilemmas in offering good care, and to suggest ways in which practice might be improved.

'A must have for all aspiring and current student midwives and Newly Qualified Midwives.' - Carinna Griffiths, lecturer in Midwifery Written in a friendly and uplifting tone, Becoming a Midwife provides students and newly-qualified midwives with the tools and support they need to thrive on their course, on placement and in the early stages of their careers. The first part of the book focuses on core academic skills, including chapters on time management, writing essays and reflections, delivering presentations and preparing for exams. The book then establishes the fundamentals of clinical practice, and presents tried-and-tested strategies for developing clinical skills alongside guidance on managing workplace relationships and challenges. The final chapters help students make the transition to newly-qualified, with guidance on job applications, advocacy and career options. Acknowledging that midwifery can be a challenging and emotionally-demanding profession, this book has a strong focus on self-care and seeking support, as well as managing stress, avoiding burnout and juggling work, study and life. Chapters are enriched with insights from students and practising midwives, practical tips, worksheets to promote reflective practice and suggestions for further reading. Accompanying online resources for this title can be found at midwifediaries.com, including videos, blogs and interviews with practising midwives.

Midwifery & Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Review Guide, Fifth Edition is a comprehensive review designed to help midwives and women’s health nurse practitioners prepare for their certification exams. Based on the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) and the National Certification Corporation (NCC) test blueprints, it contains numerous questions with answers and rationales representing those found on the exams. Completely updated and revised with the most current evidence and practice standards, the Fifth Edition incorporates expanded content on pharmacology, coverage related to LGBTQ+ individuals and racial minorities, more discussions of health disparities, and more practice questions and images throughout. Midwifery & Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Review Guide, Fifth Edition is published in partnership with the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH).

"Not of woman born, the Fortunate, the Unborn"—the terms designating those born by Caesarean section in medieval and Renaissance Europe were mysterious and ambiguous. Examining representations of Caesarean birth in legend and art and tracing its history in medical writing, Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski addresses the web of religious, ethical, and cultural questions concerning abdominal delivery in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Not of Woman Born increases our understanding of the history of the medical profession, of medical iconography, and of ideas surrounding "unnatural" childbirth. Blumenfeld-Kosinski compares texts and visual images in order to trace the evolution of Caesarean birth as it was perceived by the main actors involved—pregnant women, medical practitioners, and artistic or literary interpreters. Bringing together medical treatises and texts as well as hitherto unexplored primary sources such as manuscript illuminations, she provides a fresh perspective on attitudes toward pregnancy and birth in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; the meaning and consequences of medieval medicine for women as both patients and practitioners, and the professionalization of medicine. She discusses writings on Caesarean birth from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when Church Councils ordered midwives to perform the operation if a mother died during childbirth in order that the child might be baptized; to the fourteenth century, when the first medical text, Bernard of Gordon's Lilium medicinae, mentioned the operation; up to the gradual replacement of midwives by male surgeons in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Not of Woman Born offers the first close analysis of Frarnois Rousset's 1581 treatise on the operation as an example of sixteenth-century medical discourse. It also considers the ambiguous nature of Caesarean birth, drawing on accounts of such miraculous examples as the birth of the Antichrist. An appendix reviews the complex etymological history of the term "Caesarean section." Richly interdisciplinary, Not of Woman Born will enliven discussions of the controversial issues surrounding Caesarean delivery today. Medical, social, and cultural historians interested in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, historians, literary scholars, midwives, obstetricians, nurses, and others concerned with women's history will want to read it.

Nursing and midwifery are inspiring and amazing professions - but as you face the realities of juggling work, study and life, you may now be thinking 'what did I let myself in for'? This book is designed to help anyone who is struggling and needs a little (or a lot of) guidance. It's packed with useful information and practical exercises to help nursing and midwifery students cope with all the major sources of stress - including: juggling time succeeding in assignments and exams understanding what's expected in real life and on placements managing finances coping with stress applying for jobs and more Written by authors who have helped countless students from a wide range of backgrounds conquer their problems, this book will help you to succeed in your journey to becoming a registered nurse or midwife.

A multi-professional research team comprising practitioners, academics, service-users and students has undertaken a major research project on pre and post-registration students engaged in Social Work, Midwifery and Emergency Care (Nursing and Paramedicine) professional degrees. This book explores students' perceptions of the tools and methods used to assess their practice and the impact these processes have had on their learning and professionalism during their journey through the programme. A four-year longitudinal study comprising annual interviews with 14 students has enabled their developing understanding and changing views to emerge, rather than just gaining a snapshot as in previous literature.

We have written this book because the story it tells warrants a wide audience. We see the purpose of this book as informing discussion and decision-making around reconfigurations of maternity care, so that planning, communication, management and recruitment can be improved and shared vision articulated and understood.A" Throughout the world, women-centred care is gaining prominence in providing maternity care. Many birth centres open each year to meet this need - but at the same time, many close or are shelved. So why should the turnover in organisations that deliver such a vital service to women be so high, thwarting many midwives from practising as they would wish? This carefully researched and passionate book tells the story of a birth centre that did fail, and the painful but valuable lessons it presents for others. Many of the issues and behaviours illustrated - lack of leadership, support, vision and plain-dealing, and tensions between bureaucracy and women-centred care - will find resonance in maternity services and midwifery experiences in the UK and throughout the world. Tensions and Barriers in Improving Maternity Care is a vital and challenging resource for all midwives, managers and policy makers and shapers with an interest in maternity and women-centred care. "A remarkably detailed analysis of the politics of a birth centre trapped in a medicalised system that threatened and rapidly destroyed it. It is a vivid example of how autonomous midwifery is undermined by an organisational structure in which management focuses exclusively on one model of care." - From the Foreword by Sheila Kitzinger 'I would recommend this powerful book to all supervisors of midwives as it provides profound insights into the impact of loss and grief upon the midwives who are often left feeling isolated and vulnerable when dealing with difficult circumstances.' - Nessa McHugh, lecturer in midwifery at Edinburgh Napier University, and leader of the Preparation and Practice of Supervisors of Midwives programme.

A woman-centered approach to pregnancy must be flexible enough to address the variety of women's experiences around the world, encompassing medical conditions, cultures and family structures. It must also include women who choose not to carry a pregnancy or experience a miscarriage. This unique woman-centered text explores all these issues and more

Since childbirth became a medicalized - and usually hospitalized - event a century ago, women's and families' psychosocial needs have been relegated to a somewhat peripheral role within the clinically focussed hierarchy of medical care. This text reinstates psychosocial issues as a primary focus of care, together with clinical excellence. Family-centred care is a familiar phrase in today's maternity services, with professional guidelines and hospital policies including the term in their care protocols; however, few definitions, and no specific standards, for family-centred care exist. While all caregivers and care services are likely to define their care as sensitive to women's needs, and family-centred, the actual implementation of a family-centred approach - despite it being a current fashion in care - is still inadequate. This book clearly defines family-centred perinatal care, and outlines how truly family-centred care can, and should, be implemented, and how, and where, this has been done.

From 1950 until 2001, Lovie Beard Shelton practiced midwifery in eastern North Carolina homes, delivering some 4,000 babies to black, white, Mennonite, and hippie women; to those too poor to afford a hospital birth; and to a few rich enough to have any kind of delivery they pleased. Her life, which was about giving life, was conspicuously marked by loss, including the untimely death of her husband and the murder of her son. Lovie is a provocative chronicle of Shelton's life and work, which spanned enormous changes in midwifery and in the ways women give birth. In this artful exploration of documentary fieldwork, Lisa Yarger confronts the choices involved in producing an authentic portrait of a woman who is at once loner and self-styled folk hero. Fully embracing the difficulties of telling a true story, Yarger is able to get at the story of telling the story. As Lovie describes her calling, we meet a woman who sees herself working in partnership with God and who must wrestle with the question of what happens when a woman who has devoted her life to service, to doing God's work, ages out of usefulness. When I'm no longer a midwife, who am I? Facing retirement and a host of health issues, Lovie attempts to fit together the jagged pieces of her life as she prepares for one final home birth.

The main aim of this practical "Handbook" is to strengthen counselling and communication skills of skilled attendants (SAs) and other health providers, helping them to effectively discuss with women, families and communities the key issues surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, postnatal and post-abortion care. "Counselling for Maternal and Newborn Health Care" is divided into three main sections. Part 1 is an introduction which describes the aims and objectives and the general layout of the Handbook. Part 2 describes the counselling process and outlines the six key steps to effective counselling. It explores the counselling context and factors that influence this context including the socio-economic, gender, and cultural environment. A series of guiding principles is introduced and specific counselling skills are outlined. Part 3 focuses on different maternal and newborn health topics, including general care in the home during pregnancy; birth and emergency planning; danger signs in pregnancy; post-abortion care; support during labor; postnatal care of the mother and newborn; family planning counselling; breastfeeding; women with HIV/AIDS; death and bereavement; women and violence; linking with the community.Each Session contains specific aims and objectives, clearly outlining the skills that will be developed and corresponding learning outcomes. Practical activities have been designed to encourage reflection, provoke discussions, build skills and ensure the local relevance of information. There is a review at the end of each session to ensure the SAs have understood the key points before they progress to subsequent sessions.

Help your students prepare for effective maternity nursing practice! This updated 4th Edition of Susan Ricci s practical text provides students with the essential information they need to care for women and their families, and also to assist them in making the right choices safely, intelligently, and with confidence. With integrated case studies and nursing procedures throughout, the text takes a nursing process approach, builds on previously mastered content, and includes much that is new, including increased coverage of the cultural and global aspects of maternity and women s health care. KEY FEATURES Revised Unfolding Case Studies in every chapter, now paired with patient photos, give students an opportunity to apply concepts to real-life scenarios. Up-to-date Nursing Procedures provide clear, step-by-step explanations, along with illustrations of variations in nursing care, to help students master vital skills. New Bringing It All Together Case Studies begin in the end-of-chapter worksheets and unfold online, providing extended opportunities for students to connect learning to practice. New! Concept Mastery Alerts improve students understanding of potentially confusing topics as identified by Lippincott s Adaptive Learning Powered by prepU. Updated Teaching Guidelines, now with rationales, prepare students to educate families. Additional evidence-based research findings promote evidence-based maternity nursing practice and interventions. More than 700 NCLEX-Style Review Questions help students review important concepts and prepare for the NCLEX-RN. This leading content is also incorporated into Lippincott CoursePoint+, a dynamic learning solution that integrates this book s curriculum, adaptive learning tools, virtual simulations, real-time data reporting, and the latest evidence-based practice content together into one powerful student learning solution. Lippincott CoursePoint+ improves the nursing students critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills to prepare them for practice. Learn more at www.NursingEducationSuccess.com/CoursePoint."