Taking the recent coronavirus pandemic as a starting point, this book presents and analyzes new research around medical clowning in hospitals, from social media use to the impact on the hospitalized child in later life. This innovative book begins with an overview of the work of medical clowns. It discusses the idea of humor as a mechanism related to the revolution in language and human consciousness, and makes a connection between humor and anxiety, exploring how this can be mobilized to support hospitalized patients. There is extensive examination of medical clowning to strengthen coping skills and promote wellbeing in the time of Covid-19, where loneliness and isolation loomed large and anxieties were high. Subsequent chapters explore the role of medical clowning in wartime and at time of natural disasters, the experiences of children some time after their experience of hospitalization and clowning, and the role of social media and medical clowns in community building. This book is a fascinating contribution to the literature on medical clowning. It is of interest to researchers, practitioners and lecturers in medical clowning, play in healthcare, nursing, medicine, and performance studies.

With an increasing expectation that all health professionals, including midwives, will base their practice on evidence, this popular book demystifies the world of research for midwives in the UK. Introduction to Research for Midwives is a highly regarded resource that helps the reader develop their research skills and guides them toward using evidence effectively in their clinical work. Written clearly and simply, it covers research methods and processes, critical evaluation of research, and application of research to practice. This book is suitable for both students and practising midwives, whether they are producers or end-users of research, or simply need to understand how to critique research articles and produce literature reviews. Simple language, clear writing and structure - can be dipped into or read from cover to cover Extensive guidelines on critiquing research articles and producing successful literature reviews Student friendly - includes tips for producing successful assignments New chapter on 'How to Write an Undergraduate Dissertation' 'Conducting Research' and 'Critiquing Research' sections in each chapter - suitable for midwives using research in different ways Reflection prompts to encourage readers to engage with the narrative Reader activities to enhance learning and understanding Comprehensive and fully updated throughout Glossary to provide clear explanations of research jargon Linked to the NMC Standards and Proficiencies for Midwives, and can support professional revalidation

Skilled care during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period is vital to the survival and health of mothers and newborns. In fact, the wellbeing of a society is represented by the health of mothers, newborns and children. To this end, the United Nations has determined that the number of births assisted by a skilled attendant is one of the indicators of progress in a country. Juta's clinical guide for Midwives is a user-friendly, illustrated clinical manual developed to provide all midwives with up-to-date knowledge and practical skills. For ease of use, the title has been split into three parts - the antenatal months, the second and third stages of labour, and the postnatal period. These parts are split into modules, each one covering a specific topic, which contain - step-by-step instructions for carrying out procedures, along with a rationale for each; clinical tips drawn from years of midwifery experience; clear illustrations to demonstrate difficult procedures or concepts. Juta's clinical guide for midwives has been created to assist students of midwifery and as a continuing education resource for practising midwives, tutors and medical students. The information within it is essential for the achievement of millennium development goals four and five the reduction of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity. It is an appropriate and timely guide for midwives in South Africa today.

This second edition of a groundbreaking book is substantially revised to deliver the foundation for an evidence-based model for best practices in midwifery a model critical to raising the United States current standing as the bottom-ranking country for maternity mortality among developed nations. With a focus on updated scientific evidence as the framework for midwifery practice, the book includes 21 completely new chapters that address both continuing and new areas of practice, the impact of institutional and national policies, and the effects of diversity and globalization. Incorporating the midwifery model of care, the book provides strategies for change and guidance for implementing evidence-based best practices. The book examines midwifery efforts to improve the health of women and children in the U.S., for example, Strong Start, US MERA, Centering Pregnancy, a focus on physiologic birth, and successful global endeavors. It encompasses a diverse nationwide authorship that includes leaders in midwifery, academicians, midwives representing diversity, hospital- and community-based practitioners, and policymakers. This coalition of authors from diverse backgrounds facilitates an engaging and robust discussion around best practices. Chapters open with a contemporary review of the literature, a comparison of current (often scientifically unsubstantiated and ineffective) practices, evidence-based recommendations, and best practices for midwifery. Key Features: Focuses on scientific evidence as the framework for midwifery practice Addresses continuing and new, controversial areas of practice with strategies and guidelines for change Includes 20 out of 27 completely new chapters Authored by a diverse group of 44 prominent midwifery leaders Examines practices that are in conflict with scientific evidence

It is vital that healthcare practitioners understand the psychological impact of childbirth when caring for women. This accessible guide is designed to improve the care that women receive and, as a result, public health outcomes related to maternal and infant wellbeing. This book outlines how clinicians can offer practical support to women after birth. It: discusses what we know about how women adapt to motherhood and develop a post-childbirth identity; outlines some of the causes and manifestations of post-traumatic stress following childbirth; provides practical guidance for setting up postnatal pathways for women traumatised by birth and how to communicate effectively; equips practitioners with the knowledge and skills to support pregnant women with a fear of birth; incorporates narratives from women to demonstrate how their births and related events were perceived and processed, before discussing how women's views can be used to inform future practice; highlights the importance of restorative supervision for healthcare professionals working in this area to promote staff resilience and sustainability. Drawing together theoretical knowledge, evidence, practical skills and women's narratives to help clinicians understand the psychology of childbirth and support women, it is of significant value to all healthcare practitioners engaged in maternity services.

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.

This book presents the contemporary history and dynamics of Mexican midwifery - professional, (post)modern or autonomous, traditional and Indigenous - as profoundly political and embedded in differing societal stratifications. By situated politics, the authors refer to various networks, spaces and territories, which are also constructed by the midwives. By politically situated, the authors refer to various intersections, unsettled relations and contexts in which Mexican midwives are positioned. Examining Mexican midwiferies in depth, the volume sharpens the focus on the worlds in which midwives are profoundly immersed as agents in generating and participating in movements, alliances, health professions, communities, homes, territories and knowledges. The chapters provide a complex panorama of midwives in Mexico with an array of insights into their professional and political autonomy, (post)coloniality, body-territoriality, the challenges of defining midwifery, and above all, into the ways in which contemporary Mexican midwiferies relate to a complex set of human rights. The book will be of interest to a range of scholars from anthropology, sociology, politics, global health, gender studies, development studies, and Latin American studies, as well as to midwives and other professionals involved in childbirth policy and practice.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and around the world. Major risk factors for CVD result from poor lifestyle habits and practices, but the area of lifestyle medicine has emerged to help clinicians and their patients understand the power of positive lifestyle habits and actions. Written by cardiologist and lifestyle medicine pioneer, Dr. James Rippe, Integrating Lifestyle Medicine in Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention introduces the principles of lifestyle medicine with the practice of cardiology to help lower the risk of heart disease and, if already present, assist in its treatment. This book provides evidence-based information on both the prevention and treatment of CVD through lifestyle measures such as regular physical activity, sound nutrition, weight management and avoidance of tobacco products. This information aids physicians and patients to better understand multiple linkages between poor habits and practices, employing them with associated behavioral techniques to lessen the likelihood of developing CVD. Features: Summarizes major issues in CVD including heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, lipid abnormalities and obesity. Provides protocols for overcoming a sedentary lifestyle and using lifestyle medicine techniques to optimize brain health. Empowers clinicians with vital information for consultations on the power of lifestyle medicine practices, both to treat symptoms if already present or to prevent major components of CVD from developing in the future. Written for practitioners at all levels, this user-friendly volume in the Lifestyle Medicine series is valuable to practitioners in general medicine or subspecialty practices including lifestyle medicine and cardiology.

Edge Entanglements traverses the borderlands of the community "mental health" sector by "plugging in" to concepts offered by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari along with work from Mad Studies, postcolonial, and feminist scholars. Barlott and Setchell demonstrate what postqualitative inquiry can do, surfacing the transformative potential of freely-given relationships between psychiatrised people and allies in the community. Thinking with theory, the authors map the composition and generative processes of freely-given, ally relationships. Edge Entanglements surfaces how such relationships can unsettle constraints of the mental health sector and produce creative possibilities for psychiatrised people. Affectionately creating harmonies between theory and empirical "data," the authors sketch ally relationships in ways that move. Allyship is enacted through micropolitical processes of becoming-complicit: ongoing movement towards taking on the struggle of another as your own. Barlott and Setchell's work offers both conceptual and practical insights into postqualitative experimentation, relationship-oriented mental health practice, and citizen activism that unsettles disciplinary boundaries. Ongoing, disruptive movements on the margins of the mental health sector - such as freely-given relationships - offer opportunities to be otherwise. Edge Entanglements is for people whose lives and practices are precariously interconnected with the mental health sector and are interested in doing things differently. This book is likely to be useful for novice and established (applied) new material and/or posthumanist scholars interested in postqualitative, theory-driven research; health practitioners seeking alternative or radical approaches to their work; and people interested in citizen advocacy, activism, and community organising in/out of the mental health sector.

Mindfulness in the Birth Sphere draws together and critically appraises a raft of emerging research around mindfulness in healthcare, looking especially at its relevance to pregnancy and childbirth. Divided into three parts, this reflective book: * Investigates the phenomena of mindfulness through discussions of neuroscience, an indigenous worldview and research methods. * Develops the concept of mindfulness for use in practice with women/and babies across the continuum of childbirth. It includes chapters on birth environments, intrapartum care, mental health, fertility, breastfeeding and parenting among others. * Explores mindfulness as a tool for birth practitioners and educators, promoting self-care, resilience and compassion. Each chapter discusses specific research, evidence and experiences of mindfulness, including practical advice and an example of a mindfulness practice. This is an essential read for all those interested in mindfulness in connection to pregnancy and childbirth, including midwives, doulas, doctors and birth activists, whether involved in practice, research or education.

This book explores two public sector scandals in the UK, drawing on Max Weber's thought on 'the iron cage' to understand how these cases of patient-neglect in NHS hospitals and failures by police and social workers to address the organised sexual exploitation of young girls occurred. Through examination of the management failures and institutional vulnerabilities, and with attention to the trends of bureaucratisation and rationalisation that characterised both scandals, it reveals the explanatory power of Weber's thought, developing a theoretical model that updates and extends Weber's work in light of the cases discussed. The final chapter examines the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights how the focus on a rational techno-medical solution to the pandemic offered by the vaccines together with bureaucratic expansion has created an authoritarian and totalitarian society which represents the ultimate realisation of Weber's iron cage. Showing that ordinary people, including professionals, are still trapped in the 'iron cage', it will appeal to scholars of sociology and social theory, as well as those providing training and working within the caring and service professions of policing, social work and nursing.

This book provides a theoretically and empirically grounded examination of the struggle for maternity care in contemporary Russia, framed by changes to the healthcare system and the roles of its participants after socialism. The chapters consider multiple perspectives and interactions between women and professionals and the structural and institutional pressures they face when striving for better conditions and treatment. Russian maternity care is characterized by the vivid mix of legacy of Soviet paternalism and medicalization, bureaucratic principles of state regulation (with high level of centralization and lack of professional autonomy) and global neoliberal tendencies. Maternity care professionals have to satisfy not only the growing needs and demands of women, but also deal with increasing state regulative control, market demands and new professional standards of care. Navigating these multiple and various challenges, maternity providers have to perform in multiple roles, bridge the organizational gaps and inconsistencies. Thus, the field of struggle for good care becomes not only professional, but political one. Highlighting the opportunities and barriers for good care in the context of post-socialist Russia, this book will be of particular interest to medical anthropologists and sociologists as well as midwives and other health professionals.

Focusing on reproductive and sexual justice, this important book explores in detail both the challenges that trans people face when negotiating reproductive and sexual health in restrictive social contexts, and their agency in advocating for change. Chapters cover a breadth of topics such as intimacy, sexual violence, reproductive intentions, sexuality education, oncology, and pregnancy, introducing readers to the latest research in the field as well as key emerging concepts. The authors identify core principles for trans reproductive and sexual justice, providing a broad overview of what is currently succeeding and what can be built on going into the future. Trans Reproductive and Sexual Health offers a comprehensive exploration that is essential reading for academics and students in psychology, sociology, gender studies, and related areas, as well as clinicians and policy makers, offering direct implications for professional audiences working in health and social care.

What is the reality of being a midwife in the twenty-first century? What is it like to help and support women throughout pregnancy and childbirth and into motherhood? What roles can midwives play in society? This new edition of the popular text, Becoming a Midwife, explores what it is to be a midwife, looking at the factors that make midwifery such a special profession, as well as some of the challenges. The fully updated chapters cover a variety of settings and several different stages in a woman's pregnancy, including stories from midwives working in hospitals and in the community, as managers, supervisors and educators, and as men, women, mothers and birth activists. All chapters are narrated by contributors who introduce their own theme, recount a vignette that throws light on their understandings of midwifery and reasons for becoming (or not becoming) a midwife and any subsequent career moves. Backed up by commentaries and drawing together these insights, the editors show what it means to be a midwife today. Suitable for those contemplating a career in midwifery and providing an opportunity for reflection for more experienced midwives, this thought-provoking book is an invaluable contribution to midwifery.

--This text shows students how to organize their work and write gracefully. --Vivid examples show students effective re-writes of example passages. --Classroom and student homework assignments are provided on the book's web site. --Provides examples from both qualitative and quantitative research. --At 150 pages the book is an effective core text for any social science writing course, but brief enough to be assigned in large required courses like social science research methods in sociology and in fields like education, criminology, allied medical health, and other fields where effective research presentation is an important career skill.

This new edition of Sarah Franklin's classic monograph on the development of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) includes two entirely new chapters reflecting on the relevance of the book's findings in the context of the past two decades and providing a 'state-of-the-art' review of the field today. Over the past 25 years, both the assisted conception industry and the academic field of reproductive studies have grown enormously. IVF, in particular, is belatedly becoming recognised as one of the most influential technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with a far-reaching set of implications that have to date been underestimated, understudied and under-reported. This pioneering text was the first to explore the emergence of commercial IVF in the United Kingdom, where the technique was originally developed. During the 1980s, the British Parliament devised a unique system of comprehensive national regulation of assisted reproduction amidst fractious public and media debate over IVF and embryo research. Franklin chronicles these developments and explores their significance in relation to classic anthropological debates about the meanings of kinship, gender and the 'biological facts' of parenthood. Drawing on extensive personal interviews with women and couples undergoing IVF, as well as ethnographic fieldword in early IVF clinics, the book explores the unique demands of the IVF technique. In richly detailed chapters, it documents the 'topsy-turvy' world of IVF, and how the experience of undergoing IVF changes its users in ways they had not anticipated. Franklin argues that such experiences reveal a crucial feature of translational biomedical procedures more widely - namely, that these are 'hope technologies' that paradoxically generate new uncertainties and risks in the very space of their supposed resolution. The final chapter closely engages with the 'hope technology' concept, as well as the idea of 'having to try' and uses these frames to link contemporary reproductive studies to core sociological and anthropological arguments about economy, society and technology. In the context of rapid fertility decline and huge growth in the fertility industry, this volume is even more relevant today than when it was first published at the dawn of what Franklin calls the era of 'iFertility'. Embodied Progress is an essential read for all social science academics and students with an interested in the burgeoning new field of reproductive studies. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners working in the fields of reproductive health, biomedicine and policy.

Providing essential knowledge and understanding that midwives, health visitors, nursery nurses and lay birth and early parenting educators need to deliver effective and evidence-based education to all new parents and families, this book explores key issues in perinatal education. Bringing together research and thinking around preconception and birth, infant sleep, nutrition, attachment and development, it also includes chapters on topics of growing importance, such as preconception education, LGBTQ+ parent education, the role of parenting advice, parent education across different cultures and teaching antenatal classes online. Each chapter includes a key knowledge update and pointers for practice. This wide-ranging and practical text is an important read for all those supporting new parents from pregnancy through the first 1000 days, especially those delivering antenatal care and birth and early parenting education.

The Routledge Handbook of Visual Impairment examines current debates as well as cross-examining traditionally held beliefs around visual impairment. It provides a bridge between medical practice and social and cultural research drawing on authentic investigations. It is the intention of this Handbook to provide an opportunity to engage with academic researchers who wish to ensure a coherent and rigorous approach to research construction and reflection on visual impairment that is in collaboration with, but sometimes is beyond, the medical realm. This Handbook is divided into ten thematic areas in order to represent the wide range of debates and concepts within visual impairment. The ten themes include: cerebral visual impairment; education; sport and physical exercise; assistive technology; understanding the cultural aesthetics; socio-emotional and sexual aspects of visual impairment; orientation, mobility, habitation, and rehabilitation; recent advances in "eye" research and sensory substitution devices; ageing and adulthood. The 27 chapters that explore the social and cultural aspects of visual impairment can be taken and used in a variety of different ways in order to promote research and generate debate among practitioners and scholars who wish to use this resource to inform their practice in supporting and developing positive outcomes for all.

The Routledge Handbook of Health and Media provides an extensive review and exploration of the myriad ways that health and media function as a symbiotic partnership that profoundly influences contemporary societies. A unique and significant volume in an expanding pedagogical field, this diverse collection of international, original, and interdisciplinary essays goes beyond issues of representation to engage in scholarly conversations about the web of networks that inextricably bind media and health to each other. Divided into sections on film, television, animation, photography, comics, advertising, social media, and print journalism, each chapter begins with a concrete text or texts, using it to raise more general and more theoretical issues about the medium in question. As such, this Handbook defines, expands, and illuminates the role that the humanities and arts play in the education and practice of healthcare professionals and in our understanding of health, illness, and disability. The Routledge Handbook of Health and Media is an invaluable reference for academics, students and health professionals engaged with cultural issues in media and medicine, popular representations of disease and disability, and the patient/professional health care encounter.

In Engaging in Narrative Inquiry, Second Edition, D. Jean Clandinin, a pioneer in narrative research, updates her classic formulation on narrative inquiry, clarifying, extending, and refining methods. This updated edition looks at changes and developments in the field since the publication of the first edition in 2013, exploring how narrative inquiry explores human lives through a narrative lens that honors experience as a source of important knowledge and understanding. The book includes several exemplary cases with the author's critique and analysis of the work. The following are new to this edition: New exemplary cases, including Menon's autobiographical narrative inquiry as the starting point for framing a research puzzle and justifying a study, Chung's account of a study that begins with living alongside participants, and a paper from Swanson's autobiographical narrative inquiry An expanded discussion of the philosophical grounding of narrative inquiry An expanded discussion of relational ethics in narrative inquiry that highlights links to a relational ontology An updated account of the field of narrative inquiry that highlights future directions, including the necessity of response groups, and questions of responsibility and community The increasing interest in narrative inquiry as research methodology across disciplines makes this book an essential guide and an excellent text for graduate courses in qualitative inquiry, education and nursing research, sociology, and all courses in autobiographical and narrative research and inquiry.

--This text shows students how to organize their work and write gracefully. --Vivid examples show students effective re-writes of example passages. --Classroom and student homework assignments are provided on the book's web site. --Provides examples from both qualitative and quantitative research. --At 150 pages the book is an effective core text for any social science writing course, but brief enough to be assigned in large required courses like social science research methods in sociology and in fields like education, criminology, allied medical health, and other fields where effective research presentation is an important career skill.

This book explores how, why and when hermeneutic phenomenology can be used as a methodology in health and social research. Providing actual examples of doing robust hermeneutic phenomenology and a focus on praxis, the book demonstrates how philosophical or theoretical notions can inform, enrich and enhance our research projects. The chapters offer examples of many different research designs and interpretive decisions in order to illustrate the unbounded and creative nature of this type of inquiry, whilst also demonstrating the trustworthiness of the scientific processes adopted. The chapter authors invite the reader on a unique journey that highlights how they made individual and tailored decisions throughout their projects, emphasising the challenges and joys they encountered. This book is a valuable resource for all students and academics who wish to explore the meaningfulness of human lived experiences across the multitude of phenomena in health and social care.

Infancy: The Basics offers an introduction to the developmental science behind the fascinating world of infant development. This book takes the reader from before birth through the moment infants come into the world seemingly unable to do much but eat, eliminate, and sleep, and across the few short, incredible years, to when infants are walking, talking, thinking humans with clear preferences, wishes, and dreams, having already forged strong long-lasting relationships. Dispelling common myths and misconceptions about how infants' perception, cognition, language, and personalities develop, this accessible evidence-based book takes a novel whole-child approach and provides insight into the joint roles of nature (biology) and nurture (experiences) in infant development, how to care for babies to give them the best start in life, and what it means for infants to become thinking communicating social partners. Topics in this book are covered with an eye firmly fixed on how infants' first years set the stage for the rest of their lives. By helping us understand infants, experts Marc H. Bornstein and Martha E. Arterberry give us the opportunity to learn about the resiliency of our species and the many different contexts in which families rear infants. They cover key topics, including how babies are studied scientifically, prenatal development and the newborn period, how infants explore and understand the world around them, how infants begin to communicate, how infants develop an emotional life, personality, and temperament, how infants build relationships, and how parents succeed in bringing up babies in challenging circumstances. This concise clear guide to the years from before birth to 3 is for students of developmental psychology, pediatric medicine and nursing, education, and social work. It also for all parents and professionals caring for infants, who want to understand the secret world of infancy.

Sets out a clear argument for care and caregiving as an aesthetic experience and aesthetic act. Written for all advanced students of nursing and applied theatre, as well as professionals in care, nursing and dramatherapy. The first and only book to advance this concept, disturbing the boundaries of artistic and care practice.

This text provides a comprehensive and evidence-based introduction to psychiatric mental health assessment and diagnosis in advanced nursing practice. Taking a clinical, case-based approach, this textbook is designed to support graduate nursing students who are studying psychiatric mental health nursing as they develop their reasoning and decision-making skills. It presents: Therapeutic communication and psychiatric interviewing techniques, alongside basic psychiatric terminologies. The major psychiatric diagnoses, drawing on the DSM-5. A step-by-step guide to conducting a comprehensive psychiatric mental health assessment. Case examples demonstrating assessment across major psychopathologies. Good practice for conducting mental health evaluations. This is an essential text for all those undertaking psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner programs and a valuable reference for advanced practice nurses in clinical practice.