Postpartum depression has become a more recognized mental illness over the past decade as a result of education and increased awareness. Traumatic childbirth, however, is still often overlooked, resulting in a scarcity of information for health professionals. This is in spite of up to 34% of new mothers reporting experiencing a traumatic childbirth and prevalence rates rising for high risk mothers, such as those who experience stillbirth or who had very low birth weight infants.

This ground-breaking book brings together an academic, a clinician and a birth trauma activist. Each chapter discusses current research, women s stories, the common themes in the stories and the implications of these for practice, clinical case studies and a clinician s insights and recommendations for care. Topics covered include: mothers perspectives, fathers perspectives, the impact on breastfeeding, the impact on subsequent births, PTSD after childbirth and EMDR treatment for PTSD.

This book is a valuable resource for health professionals who come into contact with new mothers, providing the most current and accurate information on traumatic childbirth. It also presents mothers experiences in a manner that is accessible to women, their partners, and families.

Good intentions to do our best in healthcare are not enough. Healthcare professionals need to know how to close the gap between best evidence and practice, by understanding and applying quality improvement principles and processes. Improving Healthcare is a practical guide, providing healthcare staff with the knowledge and skills that enable them to implement, evaluate and disseminate a quality improvement project in their own workplace. With a comprehensive coverage, chapters cover the history, selection and application of quality improvement philosophies and methods in clinical healthcare at team, unit, organisational and system levels. The book also considers social processes of implementation as well as technical aspects of measuring and improving quality. As an essential guide for healthcare practitioners at any level who are new to service improvement, Improving Healthcare includes practical examples and case studies of healthcare improvements that illustrate the concepts discussed.

Praise for the previous edition: "...An outstanding handbook. It will be a familiar volume on most midwifery bookshelves, providing an excellent guide to midwifery focused care of both woman and child in the birthing setting." - Nursing Times Online Providing a practical and comprehensive guide to midwifery care, The Midwife's Labour and Birth Handbook continues to promote best practice and a safe, satisfying birthing experience with a focus on women-centred care. Covering all aspects of care during labour and birth, from obstetric emergencies to the practicalities of perineal repair (including left-hand suturing), the fourth edition has been fully revised and updated to include: Full colour photographs of kneeling extended breech and footling breech births New water birth and breech water birth photographs Female genital mutilation Sepsis Group B streptococcus Care of the woman with diabetes /Neonatal hypoglycaemia Mental health Seeding/microbirthing It also addresses important issues such as: Why are the numbers of UK women giving birth in stirrups RISING rather than falling? Why are so few preterm babies given bedside resuscitation with the cord intact? Would the creation of midwife breech practitioners/specialists enable more women to choose vaginal breech birth and is breech water birth safe? What is the legal position for women who choose to free birth - and their birth partners? Why are midwives challenging the OASI care bundle? Incorporating research, evidence and anecdotal observations, The Midwife's Labour and Birth Handbook remains an essential resource for both student midwives and experienced practising midwives.

Principles and Methods of Transformative Action Research delves into both general principles and specific methods for basic steps in the action research process-asking questions, gathering and analyzing data, communicating findings, and pursuing action. The role of collaboration is emphasized, with strategies of value to experts and engaged citizens in doing participatory research and community-based knowledge-building. Detailed attention is given to specific strategies of interviewing, participant observation, and judging and weighing evidence. The book draws on creative and critically minded elements of scientific traditions, such as transparency in telling the "story" of one's inquiry, identifying data that are "exceptions to the rule," and the value of non-formulaic, improvisational designs. Quite distinctively, the book addresses how to write in one's own voice, how to integrate action-and-inquiry into one's everyday life, issues of ethics and social responsibility, and how to consider both immediate, practical needs and "bigger picture," systemic challenges. This book can serve as an undergraduate or graduate social sciences text on research methods. It is also a guidebook for action-oriented research by academics, professionals, and lay people, alike in community agencies, schools, and grassroots organizations, and for socially relevant academic research concerned with social justice, multiculturalism, and inclusiveness.

Cases and Stories of Transformative Action Research builds on its companion book, Principles and Methods of Transformative Action Research, by describing and analyzing dozens of examples of successful action research efforts pursued in the past five decades by students and faculty of the Western Institute for Social Research. Some projects are large-scale, and some are modest interventions in the everyday lives of those participating. Some are formal organizational efforts; others are the results of individual or small group initiatives. Included are chapters on community needs assessments and innovative grassroots approaches to program evaluation; the challenges of improving our decision-making during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic; strategies of intellectual activism in addressing the growing problem of workplace bullying; action research to preserve and share the history of the Omaha tribe; and plans for an innovative school-based project based on collaborative action-and-inquiry between students and Artificial Intelligence. In addition, there are a number of detailed stories about the use of transformative action research in such areas as somatic and trauma counseling, ethnic studies, health disparities, gender differences, grassroots popular education, and the improvement of statewide steps for preventing child abuse, among many others. This book can serve as an undergraduate or graduate social sciences text on research methods. It is also a guidebook for action-oriented research by academics, professionals, and lay people alike.

How to be a Nurse or Midwife Leader is an indispensable guide for all nurses and midwives who wish to develop and improve their practice as leaders. Written in collaboration with the NHS Leadership Academy, this practical book draws on the real experience of over 10,000 nurses and midwives to bring leadership dilemmas to life in specific situations. Key learning features include: * How to develop your self-awareness * How to develop your personal impact and presence * How to survive and thrive * How to get your message across * How to get the best out of others * How to work with and lead other professionals and patients * How to have courageous conversations * How to balance conflicting demands and needs Containing exercises and reflective questions to help apply theory to leadership practice, How to be a Nurse or Midwife Leader is an ideal companion for all nurses and midwives, whether you are newly qualified, or stepping into a team leader role.

The study of sociology is now an essential part of all midwifery training, but it can often seem removed from the reality of midwifery practice. Midwives often ask: what is sociology? Why do I need sociology to be a midwife? How can sociology help improve my clinical practice? This major new textbook answers these important questions and shows how sociology can inform the practice of midwifery in the twenty-first century. It provides a comprehensive, jargon-free introduction to sociology for midwifery students with no prior knowledge of the subject, as well as practising midwives with experience of dealing with sociological issues in their daily work. Although the book assumes little or no previous knowledge of sociology it provides enough depth to meet the needs of those with some background in the field. At every stage the links between sociology and everyday practice are emphasised and explained, using a wealth of case studies and examples. The book provides: * Clearly defined learning aims and objectives * Structured activities and questions for discussion * A glossary of key sociological concepts * Annotated suggestions for further reading The editors and contributors have considerable experience teaching sociology at diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels to students from many different disciplines. This book will be an indispensable teaching aid within midwifery education, and other relevant health and social care disciplines.

Living with Uncertainty gives a broad perspective on the complexities and challenges of the practice of end-of-life care, as well as the perceived benefits and limitations of medical intervention. Drawn from research and clinical and pastoral experience, the book examines the feelings associated with the end of life, highlighting the demands that people are faced with and their consequences. It moves into the difficult area of people who feel defeated by their illness and can or want to live no longer, as well as the family, caregivers and professionals who surround them. These perspectives have been built upon around a hundred narratives of lived experience, combined with the wider clinical and practical range of voices. A topical post-script Lessons from Covid-19 captures the choices and challenges on a personal, professional and systemic level which the pandemic acutely revealed with a multiplicity of examples. This will be essential reading for students and professionals in palliative and end-of-life care. Families and friends will also benefit from this book as they try to come to terms with the delicate but universal issues of death and dying.

Using Guided Imagery and Hypnosis in Brief Therapy and Palliative Care presents a model for effective single-session therapy. Chapters include more than a dozen case studies with transcripts and commentary. Readers will learn how to use an adapted model of Remen's healing circle for preparing patients for surgery, and guided imagery and other approaches are presented for enhancing palliative care. Extensive appendixes provide a wide variety of valuable tools that psychotherapists can use with clients concerned with end-of-life issues.

The role of the community midwife differs dramatically from that of a hospital based practitioner but many midwifes entering this area of practice may not feel well equipped for this diverse experience. Community Midwifery Practice is the first text specifically tailored to meet the needs of community midwives, providing a practical, skills-based guide to improving and underpinning their day-to-day practice with an emphasis on 'normal' birth and the importance of developing relationships with the women they are charged with helping.
This accessible text includes information on the broad range of skills required by midwives working in community settings, providing practical guidance on issues such as supporting women with HIV/AIDS, issues surrounding domestic abuse, perinatal mental health, and pelvic girdle pain. Community Midwifery Practice will provide all midwives who work in community placements with a comprehensive, accessible tool designed to assist them in all aspects of their practice.

Midwives are encountering more and more women whose pregnancies are complicated by medical conditions, including cardiac disease, obesity and diabetes. This new edition is completely up-to-date and offers highly practical solutions for everyday midwifery practice, acknowledging the importance of promoting normality where possible. This text includes physiology, explanations of conditions and principles of care for preconception, pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period. Each chapter brings together the basic knowledge of a condition and how it changes during pregnancy in an integrated and accessible way, including a new chapter dedicated to obesity. Explanations of laboratory tests, diagnostic tests, common drugs and illustrative colour pictures are included in relevant chapters. Medical Conditions Affecting Pregnancy and Childbirth is a vital guide for student midwives, as well as a useful reference for practising midwives.

Meet Chloe: passionate about midwifery and on the cusp of adulthood. As a student midwife in inner-city Leicester, Chloe finds fulfilment caring for women and families from wide-ranging backgrounds - but will her own personal challenges derail her ambitions? Having recently lost her mother, and supporting her father through addiction, Chloe must make difficult choices and reconcile her rewarding yet demanding career with loyalty for those she loves. New Walk is a profoundly moving coming-of-age story, where midwifery, birth and the decisions life throws at us combine to shape a young woman's life.

Midwifery: The Basics provides an engaging and authentic insight into the midwife's world. It explores the role of the midwife as a clinician and professional, showing how midwives can support women both to achieve a healthy full-term pregnancy and a smooth transition to motherhood. This book begins with a discussion of the context of birth and parenthood, placing midwifery in its broader social context. Topics covered include: the midwife as an autonomous professional; becoming a midwife; pre-conceptual and antenatal care; intrapartum care; postnatal care; and the specialist midwife. Midwifery: The Basics uses the voices of mothers, fathers and midwives to illustrate the complex world of becoming, being and supporting parents. This is an essential introduction for students at undergraduate and A-Level who are approaching midwifery for the first time.

The study of sociology is now an essential part of all midwifery training, but it can often seem removed from the reality of midwifery practice. Midwives often ask: what is sociology? Why do I need sociology to be a midwife? How can sociology help improve my clinical practice? This major new textbook answers these important questions and shows how sociology can inform the practice of midwifery in the twenty-first century. It provides a comprehensive, jargon-free introduction to sociology for midwifery students with no prior knowledge of the subject, as well as practising midwives with experience of dealing with sociological issues in their daily work. Although the book assumes little or no previous knowledge of sociology it provides enough depth to meet the needs of those with some background in the field. At every stage the links between sociology and everyday practice are emphasised and explained, using a wealth of case studies and examples. The book provides: * Clearly defined learning aims and objectives * Structured activities and questions for discussion * A glossary of key sociological concepts * Annotated suggestions for further reading The editors and contributors have considerable experience teaching sociology at diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels to students from many different disciplines. This book will be an indispensable teaching aid within midwifery education, and other relevant health and social care disciplines.

This book examines infant and early childhood mental health and the importance of early emotional and social development for later developmental trajectories. It incorporates research and clinical perspectives and brings research findings to bear in evaluating intervention strategies. By incorporating empirical developmental literature that is directly relevant to infant mental health and clinical practice, the book addresses the multiple forces which shape young children's mental health. These forces include child factors, parental and familial variables, childrearing practices, and environmental influences. In addition, the book explores parent-child relationships, family networks, and social supports as protective factors, as well as risk factors such as poverty, exposure to violence, and substance abuse, which influence and change developmental processes. It shows that, by examining socio-emotional development in a cultural context, human development in the twenty-first century can be conceptualized through differences, similarities and diversity perspectives, focusing on the rights of every individual child.

This edited collection - one of a kind in its field - addresses the theoretical and practical implications facing representations of midwifery and media. Bringing together international scholars and practitioners, this succinct volume offers a cross-disciplinary discussion regarding the role of media in childbirth, midwifery and pregnancy representation. One chapter critiques the provision and dissemination of health information and promotional materials in a suburban antenatal clinic, while others are devoted to specific forms of media - television, the press, social media - looking at how each contribute to women's perceptions and anxieties with regard to childbirth.

This book addresses the development of our understanding of the abuse and neglect in the lives of children with disabilities. Disabilities in childhood uniquely dispose children for their abuse and neglect. Additionally, abuse and neglect dispose children for disabilities. The care and education of children with disabilities requires unique knowledge and skills and so does the consideration of their abuse and neglect. This book is based on data generated from an analysis of cases involving the abuse and neglect of children with disabilities as well as on an analysis of the data based literature in this area. Readers are provided with analysis and reflection exercises throughout the text so that they may analyze and reflect on their own awareness of the abuse and neglect of children with disabilities. Each chapter also contains a set of implications for research and practice. The final chapter focuses directly on prevention. Caregivers and professionals across disciplines will develop a new understanding of their roles in universal, secondary, and tertiary level prevention that is targeted, focused, data-based, and designed to prevent the abuse and neglect of children with disabilities in the first place.

Sadly, women often feel they have no alternative but to give up breastfeeding, having been prescribed or purchased medication. In many cases, however, this is unnecessary. This book outlines the evidence base for the use of medication during breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and Medication presents a comprehensive A to Z guide to the most frequently prescribed drugs and their safety for breastfeeding mothers. Evaluating the evidence for interventions and using a simple format for quickly identifying medications that are safe or unsafe to use, it also highlights those drugs where there is inconclusive evidence. Additional contextual information makes this the most complete text for those practitioners who support and treat breastfeeding women. It: provides an overview of the anatomy and physiology of the breast together with hormonal influences to better understand how complications, such as mastitis, arise and inform the approach to their treatment; includes a section on conditions that affect women specifically when they are lactating where prescription of medication may be necessary; discusses the importance of breastfeeding and its advantages, as well as its disadvantages; and explores how to support breastfeeding mothers, and presents a counselling model approach. This new edition contains information on more drugs and a chapter on the management of some chronic conditions which may affect breastfeeding mothers. In most cases there are options to support the mother's optimal care whilst allowing her to continue to breastfeed her baby as long as she wishes. This is a topic which raises many questions on social media, which informed the choice of conditions to consider. This is an invaluable reference for all health practitioners and volunteers who work with, support and treat breastfeeding women, including lactation consultants, breastfeeding support workers, health visitors, GPs, practice nurses, pharmacists and midwives.

A Pocket Guide for Student Midwives is an accessible, portable book offering student midwives everything they need to grasp the key elements of midwifery language, knowledge and skills.

The new edition of this useful aide-memoire is divided into two parts. The first includes relevant terms, abbreviations and definitions. The second part is a quick A-Z reference guide to common conditions, procedures, emergency situations, and supporting information, enhanced by visual material to aid comprehension of normality and anomalies. The innovative action flow charts enable rapid access to information that logically guides the reader through procedures in potentially life-threatening situations, in both home and hospital settings.

A Pocket Guide for Student Midwives is essential reading for the new non-nurse student midwife, the experienced nurse entering the midwifery profession, and senior student midwives.

This book focuses on the prevention of child abuse and neglect deaths in the U.S. In 2013 1,520 children died from maltreatment. This book defines child maltreatment fatalities (CMFs) and discusses the prevalence of deaths in the U.S. over the last several decades. It addresses the known risk factors for maltreatment deaths including child, parent, the parent-child relationship, and household risk factors. The main focus of the book addresses the responses and interventions that have been put in place in order to prevent CMFs: the child welfare profession, child death review teams, safe haven laws, criminal justice responses, public education, and new, federal efforts in the U.S. to reduce CMFs in the U.S. The book finishes by making recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers about how to prevent fatal maltreatment among children in the U.S.

Drawing on years of midwifery experience of waterbirth, this collection of stories, based on real-life events, illuminates a rewarding way of birth and emphasises the theoretical knowledge, skills, understanding, and resilience needed to practice well. Waterbirth Stories includes chapters on the criteria for use of water in labour and birth, on the different stages of labour, and on some more serious or unusual situations such as shoulder dystocia, postpartum haemorrhage, breech presentation, and other unexpected maternal and neonatal events. Each chapter includes several stories from a midwife's perspective, told in the context of evidence-based guidelines available for this topic. The stories end with learning points to help readers reflect on their own practice. Ideal for student and practising midwives with an interest in waterbirth, this research-informed book is enjoyable, challenging, and informative.

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.

Critical Qualitative Health Research seeks to deepen understandings of the philosophies, politics and practices shaping contemporary qualitative health related research. This accessible, lively, controversial introduction draws on current empirical examples and critical discussion to show how qualitative research undertaken in neoliberal healthcare contexts emerges and the complex issues qualitative researchers confront. This book provides readers with a critical, interrogative discussion of the histories and the legacies of qualitative research, as well as of the more recent calls for renewed criticality in research to respond to global health concerns. Contributions further showcase a range of contemporary work engaging with these issues and the complex encounters with philosophies, politics and practices this involves; from seeking explicit engagements with posthuman ideas or detailed explorations of deeply engaged humanist approaches, to critical discussions of the politics and practices of emerging novel, digital and creative methods. This book offers postgraduate researchers, health researchers and students alike opportunities to engage more deeply with the emergent, complex and messy terrain of qualitative health related research.

Bodies that Birth puts birthing bodies at the centre of questions about contemporary birth politics, power, and agency. Arguing that the fleshy and embodied aspects of birth have been largely silenced in social science scholarship, Rachelle Chadwick uses an array of birth stories, from diverse race-class demographics, to explore the narrative entanglements between flesh, power, and sociomateriality in relation to birth. Adopting a unique theoretical framework incorporating new materialism, feminist theory, and a Foucauldian 'analytics of power', the book aims to trace and trouble taken-for-granted assumptions about birthing bodies. Through a diffractive and dialogical approach, the analysis highlights the interplay between corporeality, power, and ideologies in the making of birth narratives across a range of intersectional differences. The book shows that there is no singular birthing body apart from sociomaterial relations of power. Instead, birthing bodies are uncertain zones or unpredictable assortments of physiology, flesh, sociomateriality, discourse, and affective flows. At the same time, birthing bodies are located within intra-acting fields of power relations, including biomedicine, racialized patriarchy, socioeconomics, and geopolitics. Bodies that Birth brings the voices of women from different sociomaterial positions into conversation. Ultimately, the book explores how attending to birthing bodies can vitalize global birth politics by listening to what matters to women in relation to birth. This is fascinating reading for researchers, academics, and students from across the social sciences.