'Breast is best' is today's prevailing mantra. However, women - particularly first-time mothers - frequently feel unsupported when they come to feed their baby. This new experience often takes place in the impersonal and medicalized surroundings of a hospital maternity ward where women are 'seen to' by overworked midwives. Using a UK-based ethnographic study and interview material, this book provides a new, radical and critical perspective on the ways in which women experience breastfeeding in hospitals. It highlights that, in spite of heavy promotion of breastfeeding, there is often a lack of support for women who begin to breastfeed in hospitals, thus challenging the current system of postnatal care within a culture in which neither service-user nor provider feel satisfied. Incorporating recommendations for policy and practice on infant feeding, Breastfeeding in Hospital is highly relevant to health professionals and breastfeeding supporters as well as to students in health and social care, medical anthropology and medical sociology, as it explores practice issues while contextualising them within a broad social, political and economic context.

At the cutting-edge of maternal and neonatal management and research, this reference presents the most recent advances in fetal DNA/RNA, embryoscopy/fetoscopy, open fetal surgery, and ethnic population screening to manage pre-existing and newly detected maternal medical complications, detect genetic and congenital abnormalities, prevent preterm births, and optimize pregnancy outcomes. With illustrative color photographs, this source offers contributions by esteemed professionals at respected institutions around the globe and covers legal issues concerning prenatal assessment and diagnosis.

At the moment of birth, the obstetrician is presented with a wide range of visual signs and symptoms in the neonate that may be entirely normal or that may indicate the presence of some underlying condition or disease. Being able to recognize these at an early stage is often particularly important for their successful management. This exceptionally illustrated atlas, authored by the President of the European Society of Perinatal Medicine and a leading authority in the field, provides an important visual guide to the correct diagnosis of the newborn. It will be a valuable aid to many obstetricians and others involved in the health management of infants.

This reference provides an authoritative overview of the role of ultrasonography and MR imaging technologies in the examination and assessment of the central nervous system of the fetus and neonate. Spanning advancements in fetal ultrasound, in-utero MR, the imaging of the neonatal brain, and the analysis of normal and abnormal brain development, this guide paints a vivid picture of the utilization and development of imaging technologies in modern prenatal and pediatric medicine.

"Sent Before My Time" is an exploration of the workings of a neo natal intensive care unit from a child psychotherapist's point of view. It examines the relationships between the babies, the parents and the staff.

This is the premiere clinical textbook on neonatal ultrasound diagnosis. Profusely illustrated, including Doppler sonographs in color, it contains eleven original new chapters by prominent clinician-teachers from America s foremost medical schools and teaching hospitals. The entire text focuses on definitive, clinically relevant, how-to information on normal neonatal head ultrasound, congenital malformations of the brain, sonography in periventricular leukomalacia and intraventricular hemorrhage, ultrasound of the neonatal gastrointestinal tract, sonographic evaluation of the neonatal biliary system, the neonatal adrenal gland, kidney abnormalities including embryogenesis and imaging appearance, neonatal hydronephrosis, sonography of the neonatal ovary, developmental displacement of the neonatal hip, and sonography of the neonatal spinal canal.

Placental Toxicology examines placental transfer and toxicology of drugs and environmental agents to placenta, as well as to fetus. For the first time in a single volume, placental and fetal consequences of exposure of pregnant women to drugs, environmental chemicals, and infections, such as HIV, are discussed. Topics include:
The art of in vitro perfusion of human placenta
Abuse of alcohol, nicotine, morphine, and cocaine during pregnancy, their placental transfer and fetal growth retardation
Placental transfer and fetal toxicities of environmental insecticides
Placental hormones and fetal well-being
Placental transfer of HIV and treatment of pregnant women with anti-HIV drugs

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.