The Midwife’s Labour and Birth Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Midwifery Care

Authored by Vicky Chapman and Cathy Charles, this esteemed handbook has garnered praise from esteemed professionals in the field of midwifery. Alison James, Midwifery Lecturer at Plymouth University, has commended it as “an excellent resource for both student midwives and qualified staff alike.” Jayne Samples, Midwifery Lecturer at the University of Huddersfield, has praised it for being “a lovely book with a lot of practical advice and easy to navigate.”

This fully revised and updated third edition tackles pressing questions in midwifery care, including:

• Why are women being pressured into caesarean section for breech presentation when the evidence is equivocal?
• Why not bring the ambubag to the baby and leave the cord intact when a baby needs assisted ventilation breaths at birth, allowing them to benefit from the extra maternal oxygen supply?
• Why is skin-to-skin contact at birth so rarely offered to preterm babies when there is evidence of benefit?

This well-regarded text promotes normality and woman-centred care, relying on research, evidence-based guidelines, and anecdotal accounts from women. It challenges practices and guidelines that are biased or based on poor evidence, and offers valuable guidance on navigating difficult and sometimes controversial situations.

The Midwife’s Labour and Birth Handbook, 3rd edition, is an indispensable resource for both student midwives and experienced practising midwives. This updated edition features:

• Full-color photographs, including a kneeling breech birth, to enhance understanding and visualization of complex birthing scenarios
• Suturing diagrams catering to left-handed midwives, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility
• Expanded chapters on slow progress in labour and malposition/malpresentations, complete with a rare photograph of a face presentation birth

With 412 pages of in-depth information, this handbook is a must-have for any midwife seeking to provide exceptional care to women and their families. Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 3rd edition (April 1, 2013). Language: English. ISBN-10: 0470655135. ISBN-13: 978-0470655139. eText ISBN: 9781118480090, 9781299159129, 9781118480106.