Book review

Article Outline

• Brief description
• Format
• Outline of contents
• Comments
• Copyright

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Brief description 

A thought provoking and highly recommended book, it is a must have on any midwife's bookshelf. It is the fourth volume in a series exploring best practice in contemporary midwifery. This book will expand your knowledge on issues of great relevance to midwifery as well as challenge cherished perceptions. Readers are invited to consider various questions at the beginning of particular sections. You will also find suggestions for reflection activities at the end of each section. The questions can be used for your personal reflective process, or with other midwives to encourage discussion and debate.

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Format 

Midwifery: Best Practice, volume 4, is a medium sized, soft cover book of 270 pages. It is the same size as the other books in this series. There is an introduction and nine major sections. Each section concentrates on one particular area of interest to midwifery practice. Four of the sections are “key” sections which have been included in each volume. The “key” sections are Women and Midwives, Pregnancy, Labour and Birth and Life after Birth. Other sections in this book include Diversity and Birth Centres. The typesetting and layout with two columns per page is very reader friendly and easy on the eye. There is a clear and comprehensive index at the back of the book.

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Outline of contents 

Section 1, Women and Midwives asks readers to make a note of the five most important issues facing women and midwives today. This section explores autonomy, midwifery led care, continuity and control and the concept of risk when birth is normal. Section 2 focuses on Diversity. The articles range from involving Pakistani women in decisions about their maternity care to midwifery through the eyes of an 81-year-old traditional birthing attendant midwife in Belize, Central America.

Section 3 invites us to consider how we feel about our bodies and those of pregnant women as the midwives role in body image in pregnancy is explored. This section also examines risk assessment and fear, the number of prenatal visits and decision making in pregnancy about breastfeeding. Section 4 challenges us to consider the role for midwives and health services in community building for childbearing women. How do we ensure that our dialogue and information sharing in maternity service development is truly participatory?

Labour and Birth are the focus of Section 5. Topics in this section range from a review of the literature about cord clamping to vaginal breech birth with a delightful account about an unexpected breech birth at home. In this section, you will find a much needed literature review on intravenous fluids in labour and a comprehensive article on perineal trauma. Midwives working in a continuity model of care may have been amazed to observe labour not only stopping, but at times reversing when labouring women are disrupted or distressed by events, people or their own internal processes. In these situations, cervical dilatation regresses and the baby's head can even rotate out of the pelvis. These midwives will be delighted to have their observations validated as they read Ina May Gaskin's exploration of this phenomenon in this section of the book. Ina May suggests we use the term ‘pasmo’, a Spanish word meaning ‘the reversal of labour once started’ to describe this very real occurrence. Birth centres and the midwife's role in different birth environments are explored in Section 6. Section 7 focuses on Life after Birth. The in-depth article on postnatal depression is an excellent exploration of the subject. Breastfeeding and breastmilk are discussed by another writer. Sarah Buckley's article on undisturbed birth and caring for the fledgling relationship being forged between mother and baby is a must read. Her ability to explain the complex hormonal and physiological responses of the mother and baby is wonderful and provides practical direction for optimal midwifery practice.

Section 8 focuses on motherhood, looking at a range of women's experiences. Included are young teenage women, women who have experienced traumatic events and one woman's experience as a mother with a disability. The strength and amazing resilience of women embracing motherhood with the challenges provided by their particular difficulties is a testimony to the human spirit. These stories and the transformations they describe are heart warming and inspirational. Section 9 is a composite of stories and reflections, each one fascinating to read and designed to illuminate some aspect of midwifery. One story I found particularly interesting was an overview of something called Progress Theatre. Progress Theatre was designed by Mavis Kirkham, Professor of Midwifery at Sheffield, UK, and is based on Augusto Boal's “Theatre of the Oppressed”. The author explained that Progress Theatre is a dynamic, experiential workshop aimed at increasing awareness and insight. The workshop enables midwives to examine aspects of midwifery practice and culture and helps midwives look at what is “normal” and “routine” in different ways.

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Comments 

This is a fresh look at midwifery and a stimulating and challenging book. I encourage all midwives to get this book and indeed, all the books in this series. There is a saying that we change according to the people we meet and the books we read. The ideas in this book will bring about change in your attitudes and ideas about midwifery. The articles will enlarge your understanding and expand your knowledge of what midwifery practice is all about. The stories and reflective questions will really get you thinking.