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.

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."

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.