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The First Breath - How Modern Medicine Saves the Most Fragile Lives (Paperback) Loot Price: R266
Discovery Miles 2 660
You Save: R74 (22%)
The First Breath - How Modern Medicine Saves the Most Fragile Lives (Paperback): Olivia Gordon

The First Breath - How Modern Medicine Saves the Most Fragile Lives (Paperback)

Olivia Gordon

 (3 ratings, sign in to rate)
List price R340 Loot Price R266 Discovery Miles 2 660 You Save R74 (22%)

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‘Fascinating and moving.' - Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt

This is a story about the cutting-edge medicine that has saved a generation of babies.

It's about the love and fear a parent feels for a child they haven’t yet met.

It's about doctors, mothers, fathers and babies as together they fight for the first breath.

The First Breath is the first popular science book about the pioneering fetal and neonatal medicine bringing a new generation into the world – a generation of babies without precedent, who would not have lived if they had been born only a few decades ago.

Olivia Gordon explores the female experience of medicine through her own personal story and sensitive, intimate case histories of other mothers’ high-risk births. She details the relationship mothers develop with doctors who hold not only life and death in their hands, but also the very possibility of birth.

From the dawn of fetal medicine to neonatal surgery and the exploding field of perinatal genetics, The First Breath tells of fear, bravery and love. Olivia Gordon takes the reader behind the closed doors of the fetal and neonatal intensive care units, resuscitation rooms and operating theatres at some of the world’s leading children’s hospitals, unveiling the untold story of how doctors save the sickest babies.

General

Imprint: Bluebird Press
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Release date: June 2019
Authors: Olivia Gordon
Dimensions: 234 x 153 x 24mm (L x W x T)
Format: Paperback - Trade
Pages: 368
ISBN-13: 978-1-5098-7118-6
Categories: Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > General
Books > Medicine > Clinical & internal medicine > Gynaecology & obstetrics > Materno-fetal medicine
Books > Medicine > Clinical & internal medicine > Paediatric medicine > Neonatal medicine
Books > Health, Home & Family > Family & health > Popular medicine > General
Books > Biography > General
LSN: 1-5098-7118-7
Barcode: 9781509871186

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My review

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 | Review by: Breakaway R.

A fascinating account of modern foetal medicine by a mother who has experienced its impact first-hand When Olivia Gordon and her husband found out she was pregnant with their first baby, they were unbelievably excited to become parents. Never in their darkest dreams did they imagine that there might be a problem with their unborn child. But at 29 weeks gestation, a scan revealed that something was wrong – their baby had polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid) and would require a risky in utero operation to stand a chance of surviving. Even after he was born, Joel had ongoing problems, some of which were related to a genetic abnormality, and spent many months in a neonatal intensive care unit. Through her own story and those of other mothers with sick or premature babies, Olivia provides a fascinating popular science account of the world of foetal medicine and the incredible advances that have allowed a generation of babies to be born healthy and thrive. This was an incredibly brave and well-researched book, which gives a detailed but understandable explanation of many of the recent developments in foetal medicine. From the very first ultrasound scans, to the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for chromosomal abnormalities, to cutting edge surgery that is performed on a foetus before re-inserting it back into its mother’s womb to await a natural birth, Olivia touches on a myriad of topics in a way that is descriptive and thorough and yet simple enough to be understood by non-medical readers. I felt a lot of respect for her for returning to the places of her son’s darkest hours in order to research this book, and the guts and bravery it must have taken to revisit these memories. Interspersed with the facts she presents is the story of her own son’s journey from a sick foetus to a healthy and vibrant child, as well as stories from fellow mothers, some of which don’t have such a happy ending. These true-life accounts pack quite an emotional punch, and I felt a lot for the parents of these children with severe diseases and disabilities. The author also touches on the contentious ethical issues surrounding this area, including termination of pregnancies with genetic abnormalities and the medical advances that have led to very premature infants surviving but with very severe disabilities. Unfortunately, there were a couple of aspects of this book that I didn’t enjoy. Not all of the information was new to me and there were a few instances where I felt the author had over-simplified an explanation or made slight errors in her descriptions. One thing I really disliked was her comments about how staff members writing ‘patient’, ‘mum’ or ‘baby’ in the notes of neonatal unit patients rather than their specific names could contribute to antenatal and postnatal depression - this really irritated me, as it is done for a very valid patient safety and confidentiality reason, and also seemed a slightly cheap and ignorant comment to make about a very serious mental health issue. Additionally, whilst the author had nothing but praise for the foetal medicine consultants and described the neonatal nurses in a similarly uniformly positive manner, the junior medical staff barely got a mention and when they did, it was to describe them as being ‘anxious’, ‘confused’ or incompetent. I have a close friend who spent four months working as a junior doctor in a neonatal unit, during which time she cared for hundreds of very sick babies and performed CPR on multiple infants. Understandably, she found the experience deeply stressful, traumatising and incredibly difficult practically and emotionally. For all the mention or praise staff at her level get in this book, she might as well have been twiddling her thumbs in a corner. Despite these minor and relatively personal niggles, this was an intriguing and yet understandable book that would be a stimulating read for anyone with an interest in medicine or the world of obstetrics. Whilst the facts did become a little dry at times and the pace of the writing occasionally became slightly stilted, it was still readable and enjoyable. Daenerys Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

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Everybody in NICU or connected with it should read this deeply moving account

Sun, 27 Oct 2019 | Review by: Linda157

This book gives a detailed account of a mothers journey in NICU and what the world of the NICU parent is truly like. Staff can only benefit from not only this mothers experience but the research she has done making this book easy to read and understand . A handbook for NICU nursing students

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