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This is a highly interesting and valuable discussion of the professional and practice issues of midwifery and nurse-midwifery in the United States of America (USA). Much of the discussion of the credentialing, licensure and education of nurse-midwives is not directly relevant for the Australian audience, however is useful if considering working in the USA or for understanding midwifery issues around the world.

This book is clearly structured and easy to navigate around with 16 chapters covering topics such as history, legislation, credentialing and regulation, public policy, role of midwives, practice patterns, legal and ethical issues, funding, governance, quality management and research. Each chapter is commenced with a set of learning objectives and is structured with very clear headings and sub-headings and concludes with a series of learning activities or exercises. It appears to be very well referenced, and each chapter offers a list of relevant documents, organisations, their contact information and web addresses.

I found the chapter on the history of the interaction between medicine, nursing and midwifery in the United States particularly interesting, clear and concise. From this I could see similarities and differences within the same professions here in Australia. Whilst other books have been written on midwifery history around the world, I found the discussion of American midwifery history in this book brief, to the point, easy to read and very interesting.

Throughout the book there is a strong presence of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). Whilst this is not representative of all midwives in the United States, it is the peak body and a strong voice for women's health and maternity care in that country. There is constant reference to certified nurse-midwives as well as certified midwives. Sections of the book make reference to the work of the ACNM, their achievements and their future directions.

There is constant reference throughout the book of the individual state and federal laws and policies that vary across the nation. This is a similar problem to that here in Australia whereby the state you practice in can determine its own rules and regulations by which midwives must abide by. First and foremost is of course licensure to practice, but also extends to legal issues and even funding as midwives in the USA have access to some government funding for service but this varies state by state and dependant on coding, billing and clients eligibility for government funding. There are also discussions around insurance, negligence, ethical practice, peer review and credentialing.

I see this book as a pre-requisite for students of midwifery in the USA but also for midwives from other countries considering working in the USA. It is a fantastic resource for understanding the historical, professional and political background to the current state of midwifery practice. When considered only as such, this book has little to offer Australian midwifery. However, when developing an understanding of midwifery issues around the world, for students of midwifery in Australia learning about midwifery across the globe and for policy and practice development—this book has great potential. I can see that at first glance this book may be dismissed as not relevant to the Australian context, however there are many similarities in it with Australian midwifery and would recommend it for anyone wanting to broaden their understanding and knowledge of the global midwifery profession.