Sorted: The Active Woman's Guide To Health
The intention of this book is to provide the reader with useful information about health and exercise, motivation and answers to the frequently thought (but perhaps not asked) questions that women have throughout their life, from onset of menstruation to life after menopause. It covers a range of pertinent women's health topics in bitesize chapters, which lends itself to women's busy lifestyle as it can easily be read at intervals.
The title is a little ambiguous, as at face value, it suggests that this is a book for women who are already undertaking active exercise. In fact, the book is relevant and helpful to all women, whatever their level of exercise. It is written with such insight into women's thinking (even down to the excuses, such as not enough time to exercise), that it is a great read for all women, and it would be a shame if not all women saw themselves as the target audience for the book. On a personal note, as a pre-menopausal, overweight woman, I found the book motivating, honest and informative, but I would not have given it a second glance in a book shop as the cover and title does not make me feel this book is relevant to me.
There are two chapters focused on pregnancy and the postnatal period.
Exercise in pregnancy is not always the at the forefront of a midwife's mind, so these easy-to-read chapters are a helpful introduction for the novice midwife and an aide memoire for the experienced midwife. Given the increased focus on mental health and on public health, both in pregnancy and after birth, it is encouraging that the author has written specifically about these issues. The book provides important and direct messages to the reader about healthy maternal weight for pregnancy, and the potentially serious outcomes for mums and babies associated with high body mass index.
The postnatal chapter is written with obvious sensitivity to the experiences of new mums; it is realistic and identifies with the challenges that women face, highlighting the social and emotional wellbeing needs of new mums. It is extremely positive to see mental health issues being included in a guide to health, especially postnatal depression, which is a common occurrence.
The chapters, while short, are written in clear, understandable language, enabling the author to include a large amount of content in an easy-to-read style. The book provides helpful trouble-shooting sections for minor ailments during pregnancy, advice for safely exercising in pregnancy and after birth (both vaginal and caesarean), and hints and tips (particularly useful are those concerning breastfeeding). There are also important reminders about when to seek help, how to prevent injury or ‘overdoing it’ and easy-to-understand anatomical diagrams. The personal stories and specialist opinions are beneficial, and prevent the book from having a textbook appearance; although the text can sometimes feel fragmented by them.
The book's target audience is women generally, rather than health professionals specifically, but it is a positive and helpful resource to signpost women to for information, advice and some clear do's and dont's of exercise during and after pregnancy. However, as the book only has two chapters related to pregnancy and birth, I am not sure that it would be appealing to purchase at the recommended retail price. The author is clinically credible and has researched well, using expert opinion, but this is not an academic book and has no references to pregnancy specific research studies, which therefore limits its appeal to the student or qualified midwife for higher education or continuing professional development purposes. I do not see the book having widespread appeal nationally or internationally among midwives, but it is certainly a helpful ‘go to’ guide for women.