Includes glossary and index.

Contents: The midwife -- The social context of childbirth and motherhood -- Woman-centred,midwife-friendly care:midwife care model in the UK -- Ethics in midwifery -- Evidence-based practice -- The history and regulation of midwifery in south africa -- The female pelvis and the reproductive organs -- The female urinary tract -- Hormonal cycles: fertilisation and early development -- The placenta -- The fetus -- Preparing for pregnancy -- Change and adaptation in pregnancy -- Parent education:a new dimension -- Special exercise for pregnancy,labour and the puerperium -- Antenatal care -- Abnormalities of early pregnancy -- Problems of pregnancy -- Common medical disorders associated with pregnancy -- Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy -- Sexually transmissible and reproductive tract infections in pregnancy -- Multiple pregnancy -- Specialised fetal investigations -- The first stage of labour:physiology and early care -- The first stage of labour: management -- The pain relief and comfort in labour -- Transition and the second stage of labour -- Physiology and management of the third stage of labour -- Prolonged pregnancy and disorders of uterine action -- Malpositions of occiput and malpresntations -- Operative deliveries -- Midwifery and obstetric emergencies -- Physiology and care in the puerperium -- Physical problem and complications in the puerperium -- The psychology and psychopathology of pregnancy and childbirth -- Family planning -- Bereavement and loss in maternity care -- The baby at birth -- The normal baby -- Feeding -- The healthy low birth weight baby -- Recongnising the ill baby -- Respiratory problems -- Trauma during birth;haemorrhage and convulsions -- Congenital abnormalities -- Juandice and infection -- Metabolic problems,endocrine disorders and drug withdrawal -- Pharmacology and childbirth -- Complementary and alternative medicine in maternity care -- Community,public health and social service -- Risk management -- International midwifery -- Vital statistic