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This 4th edition of this American textbook is obviously very successful in meeting the needs of the market. The book presents various pregnancy-related problems in a consistent format that includes incidence, etiology, physiological, psychological, and pathological disorders of pregnancy. It is a comprehensive review and provides the user with wide-ranging information in a concise, handy format.

We do that this text is well suited for Australian midwives for the following reasons.

The model of care depicted in the text is distinctly medical. Following the medical model the text assumes that a nurse (sic) works to implement medical management. The language is directed at nurses and nurse practitioners with one single mention of midwife that we could find in the entire text. Given our own passage to midwifery through nursing, we were initially inclined to be tolerant of the omission. However, the recurrent words “Prepare the patient and assist the physician” was too much. This does not sit well for Australian midwives for two reasons; firstly, in most states of Australia midwifery is a separate discipline from nursing. Secondly, midwifery in Australia is a more autonomous profession which is committed to implementing woman-centred, case-loading as the desired model of care; even for woman at high risk. In addition, for the most part, the references are to American resources and American standards ignoring other literature from the rest of the world. Many of the recommended tests are not in accordance with current Australian practice. The author uses some references which are out dated.

In conclusion, while much of the pathophysiology and medical management in this book is good we believe it does not meet the needs of an Australian midwifery workforce. We do not recommend this text for Australian midwives primarily because it creates confusion about the role and function of the midwife in the care of high-risk women.