Untangling the Maternity Crisis

Untangling the Maternity Crisis
Author: Nadine Edwards
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2018-01-19
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 135199820X

Arguing that contemporary maternity services provide a toxic environment both in which to practise and to give birth, this book looks at how we can change this. Its aim is promoting the best possible experiences of childbearing, and confident, strengthening and loving contexts for new parenthood. Designed to create awareness about the professional and political realities which enmesh maternity care, this inspiring volume features an in-depth and research-oriented analysis of the challenges faced by contemporary maternity services. Recognising the frequently hostile environment in which midwives practise, the contributors go on to explore its impact on women and families, as well as on midwives themselves. They then look at woman-centred and community-based ways of contributing to a much better birthing experience for all. Important and relevant for all those with an interest in improving maternity care, this book is particularly suited to midwives – practising and student, doulas, birth educators and activists, policymakers and health service managers.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire
Author: Beth Sundstrom
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2023-04-25
Genre:
ISBN: 0197743943

For more than a generation, activists and advocacy organizations have been instrumental in agitating for women's health reforms in Ireland. Over the last decade, Irish activists have experienced a number of victories to improve women's health, most notably in 2018 when Ireland passed a referendum to repeal the Eighth amendment, a constitutional ban on abortion. After years of unfavorable laws for women and successive scandals in women's health, Ireland has taken transformative steps to redefine social norms surrounding women's health and reproduction. The case of Ireland's women's health reform offers important insight toward furthering the modern global movement for women's autonomy. Catching Fire narrates the rise of women's health activism in Ireland within a global reproductive justice framework, which aims to understand and dismantle the systems of social inequality that shape, oppress, and restrict reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. The volume focuses on attempts by Irish healthcare reformers and activists to improve Irish women's access to essential healthcare services and links key developments in Irish history to reproductive advocacy efforts in America and beyond. Chapters offer historical context behind the modern reproductive justice movement through case studies on women's health issues such as contraception, abortion, and childbirth in Ireland. Together, these case studies celebrate the ingenuity of Irish activists who personalized reproductive justice through the stories of ordinary women on social media and established the Republic of Ireland as a model for future activist movements. Reaching across groups and eras, Catching Fire highlights the underrecognized historical feminist movements supporting recent women's health activism and the enduring lessons for achieving greater gender equity around the globe.

Joy at Birth

Joy at Birth
Author: Susan Crowther
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2019-09-02
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0429754116

To be at the birth of a baby is special, yet there is an increasing secularisation and reliance on technology in contemporary maternity care, particularly in the western context. Through exploration of experiences at birth this book explores joy at birth, which is often ignored and overlooked beyond the activities that help to ensure survival. This book draws on a collection of stories of birth from mothers, birth partners, obstetricians and midwives, that demonstrate joy at birth across professional groups and in different types of births and locations with or without technological interventions. Each chapter introduces stories of joy that highlight embodied, spatial and relational meanings. Employing the Heideggerian notion of a human being, it sketches out an ontological focus that draws our gaze to the everyday taken-for-granted ways of being at birth. Based on phenomenological experiential data and rigorous interpretive analysis underpinned by seminal philosophical writings, this book calls for readers to attend to the wholeness of birth in all situations and at all births in ways not attempted before. It will be of great interest to midwives, and those working in and studying maternity, obstetrics and neonatology, as well as social and medical anthropology, sociology, cultural, organisational and clinical psychology and spirituality.

Mindfulness in the Birth Sphere

Mindfulness in the Birth Sphere
Author: Lorna Davies
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2022-12-21
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1000804186

Mindfulness in the Birth Sphere draws together and critically appraises a raft of emerging research around mindfulness in healthcare, looking especially at its relevance to pregnancy and childbirth. Divided into three parts, this reflective book: · Investigates the phenomena of mindfulness through discussions of neuroscience, an indigenous worldview and research methods. · Develops the concept of mindfulness for use in practice with women/and babies across the continuum of childbirth. ​It includes chapters on birth environments, intrapartum care, mental health, fertility, breastfeeding and parenting among others. · Explores mindfulness as a tool for birth practitioners and educators, promoting self-care, resilience and compassion. Each chapter discusses specific research, evidence and experiences of mindfulness, including practical advice and an example of a mindfulness practice. This is an essential read for all those interested in mindfulness in connection to pregnancy and childbirth, including midwives, doulas, doctors and birth activists, whether involved in practice, research or education.

Cognition, Risk, and Responsibility in Obstetrics

Cognition, Risk, and Responsibility in Obstetrics
Author: Robbie Davis-Floyd
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2023-06-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1800738323

Volume 2 in this landmark 3-volume series The Anthropology of Obstetrics and Obstetricians: The Practice, Maintenance, and Reproduction of a Biomedical Profession looks at cognition, risk, and responsibility in obstetrics. This volume contains social science analyses of Swiss, Chilean, Mexican, US, Greek, and Irish obstetrics and obstetricians, particularly around their reasons for the overuse of cesareans; a chapter on "4 Stages of Cognition" and a condition called "Substage," which describes how these concepts apply to obstetricians; and a chapter on why obstetricians fear home birth. This book is a must-read for students, social scientists, and all maternity care practitioners who seek to understand obstetricians' differing ideologies and motives for practicing as they do. An excerpt from Vania Smith-Oka and Lydia Dixon's chapter: For systemic changes to occur, we must understand doctors’ decision-making rationales and take their fear-based perspectives about risk and responsibility into account, while also paying attention to the concerns raised by scholars and activists.

Myles Professional Studies for Midwifery Education and Practice

Myles Professional Studies for Midwifery Education and Practice
Author: Jayne E. Marshall
Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2019-04-15
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0702068616

Myles Professional Studies for Midwifery Education and Practice Concepts and Challenges explores the non-clinical areas of the midwifery curriculum (e.g. law, ethics, leadership, employer-led supervision and professional development) in a helpful, user-friendly format brought to readers by a team of experts under the guidance of Jayne Marshall, editor of Myles Textbook for Midwives. The volume will be suitable for all student midwives, whether undertaking pre-registration education programmes or post-graduate studies, as well as practising midwives preparing for revalidation and/or undertaking CPD. Whilst prepared predominantly by contributors from the UK, Myles Professional Studies for Midwifery Education and Practice Concepts and Challenges will be suitable for an international readership. - Specialist contributors ensure accuracy and currency of key information - Underlying theory supported by a rich array of helpful learning features such as 'real-life' case studies and reflective activities - Includes the latest initiatives such as employer-led supervision and the principles of coaching - Includes a section on the ICM and EU standards of education and international regulation covering the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Denmark and Norway - Explores the global context of the midwife's scope of practice with specific examples from the UK, Canada and the USA - Includes discussion of CPD and overseas careers opportunities - Annotated reading lists and significant websites provide additional sources of information

Understanding Anxiety, Worry and Fear in Childbearing

Understanding Anxiety, Worry and Fear in Childbearing
Author: Kathryn Gutteridge
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2019-11-04
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3030210634

This book informs and enlighten health professionals on how the recognition of fearing women can change their episode of care during childbearing. It gives practical advice on the way women present to services and the challenges that this invokes. This work is the first of its kind aimed at clinicians to deconstruct ideology around childbearing myths and its challenges. The authors review the evidence that exists and how modern maternity systems are responding to fear and shaping healthcare. Whilst some worry and anxiety is expected and indeed considered normal during childbearing, it has been suggested that this has now proliferated to a degree of abnormal for many women. Why is that and how is this panic spread? Media portrayal of birth is suggested as unrealistic material and to show only that which is dramatic and horrific. This has been considered as one factor influencing modern women. Medicalisation, technology and demand upon services is another consequence of providing almost all maternity care in hospitals. Given that the majority of childbearing women are fit and healthy is this another causative factor? By removing women from their homes and families at such a vulnerable time has a serious consequence for how she will experience her greatest leap of faith into motherhood. All of these issues are explored and examined in the book with ideas and practical suggestions of what may be done to change this increasingly common problem. This book is intended at midwives and clinicians working in maternity settings.

Becoming a Midwife

Becoming a Midwife
Author: Ellie Durant
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2023-02-23
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN: 1350322342

'A must have for all aspiring and current student midwives and Newly Qualified Midwives.' – Carinna Griffiths, lecturer in Midwifery Written in a friendly and uplifting tone, Becoming a Midwife provides students and newly-qualified midwives with the tools and support they need to thrive on their course, on placement and in the early stages of their careers. The first part of the book focuses on core academic skills, including chapters on time management, writing essays and reflections, delivering presentations and preparing for exams. The book then establishes the fundamentals of clinical practice, and presents tried-and-tested strategies for developing clinical skills alongside guidance on managing workplace relationships and challenges. The final chapters help students make the transition to newly-qualified, with guidance on job applications, advocacy and career options. Acknowledging that midwifery can be a challenging and emotionally-demanding profession, this book has a strong focus on self-care and seeking support, as well as managing stress, avoiding burnout and juggling work, study and life. Chapters are enriched with insights from students and practising midwives, practical tips, worksheets to promote reflective practice and suggestions for further reading. Accompanying online resources for this title can be found at midwifediaries.com, including videos, blogs and interviews with practising midwives.

Birthing Autonomy

Birthing Autonomy
Author: Nadine Edwards
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2013-04-03
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1134258828

Birthing Autonomy brings some balance to the difficult arguments that arise from debates about home births, and focuses on women’s views and their experiences of planning home births. It provides an in-depth exploration of how women make decisions about home births and what aspects matter most to them. Comparing how differently the pros and cons of home births are constructed and contemplated by mothers and by the medical profession, the book looks at how current obstetric thinking and practices can disempower and harm women emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Written in an accessible style, this book is enlightening for student and practicing midwives and obstetricians, as well as researchers and students of nursing, medical sociology, health studies, gender studies, feminist practitioners and theorists. It will also be invaluable to expectant mothers who want to be more informed about the choices they are facing and the wider context within which their birth options are considered.

The 21st Century Motherhood Movement

The 21st Century Motherhood Movement
Author: Andrea O'Reilly
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 9780986667114

Features more than eighty motherhood organizations from around the world. Each chapter discusses the context, history and mandate of each and examines their activities, goals and relationship to the larger motherhood movement.