Book Review
Midwifery. Preparation for Practice
Sally Pairman, Jan Pincombe, Carol Thorogood, and Sally Tracy (eds)
ISBN: 978-0-729537-56-8; 2006; xvi+878 pages; Churchill Livingstone;
Joanne Gray
Director of Studies, Midwifery; Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Technology Sydney, City Campus, Broadway NSW
When this book was published in 2006, many midwives in Australia and New Zealand were very pleased to have a comprehensive midwifery text that was reflective of midwifery practices in these countries and felt this text was long overdue. The editors have collaborated widely and well-known and respected midwives have written the chapters in the book.
This text focuses on the woman, and the partnership she has with her midwife and this is reflected in the section names: context; the woman; the midwife; partnership; autonomous practice; and collaborative practice. The book provides current, evidence-based information for practicing midwives in both Australia and New Zealand. Midwives will find this book of assistance to them as they work with women within a midwifery model of care. For many midwives, some of the approaches and concepts in this book will be new, but will encourage them to challenge and reflect on their own practices and perhaps make some changes within their own practice environment.
Students of midwifery may find this book useful to them, though the structure of the book can be a little confusing when attempting to find key pieces of information. For example, a student wishing to find out the normal range of temperature for a newborn baby needs to look in several sections to find this information. Additionally, some chapters of this text only address issues in a superficial manner. Chapter 29 'Pharmacology and prescribing', for example, provides an overview of this area of practice and students need to refer to other references to support their learning in this important practice area.
Each chapter has 'break out' boxes for clinical scenarios, clinical points, and critical thinking exercises. These are very useful, as this book has limited photographs, diagrams, and other visual affects to break up the text on the page. Review questions at the completion of each chapter are very valuable and the resource and references lists are extensive.
In summary, this book is a welcome addition to the increasing number of Australian and New Zealand midwifery texts. Practicing midwives will find this book relevant and refreshing and midwifery students will find it a useful resource during their studies.
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