Optimal Care in Childbirth: The case for a physiological approach

This is an excellent resource for all health care practitioners, and students, involved in the care of women and their families during the childbirth experience. The authors have presented clear arguments to support their recommendations for the provision of optimal care across a range of important aspects of maternity care such as: caesarean birth, electronic fetal monitoring and ‘giving birth versus being delivered’. Issues are discussed within certain geographical contexts with further exploration and comparison of how care is provided in other areas and countries. However, discussions highlight that the medicalisation of childbirth is not limited to one country or geographical area. This book provides midwives and other health professionals with the knowledge to engage in a critical debate regarding current provision of maternity care.

Each chapter addresses a specific issue, offering a critical review of whether current practices facilitate optimal outcomes for women and their newborns. This book challenges the compartmentalisation of maternity care into ‘low’ or ‘high risk’ by focusing on practices that optimise a physiological approach for all women. The following quote offers a sense of this (p 449):