Synopsis

With comprehensive coverage of maternal, newborn, and women's health nursing, Maternity & Women's Health Care, 10th Edition provides evidence-based coverage of everything you need to know about caring for women of childbearing age. It's the #1 maternity book in the market — and now respected authors Dr. Deitra Leonard Lowdermilk, Dr, Shannon E. Perry, Kitty Cashion, and Kathryn R. Alden have improved readability and provided a more focused approach! Not only does this text emphasize childbearing issues and concerns, including care of the newborn, it addresses wellness promotion and management of common women's health problems. In describing the continuum of care, it integrates the importance of understanding family, culture, and community-based care. New to this edition is the most current information on care of the late preterm infant and the 2008 updated fetal monitoring standards from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

• A logical organization builds understanding by presenting wellness content first, then complications.

• Critical Reasoning exercises offer real-life situations in which you can develop analytical skills and apply their knowledge.

• Teaching for Self-Management boxes offer a guide to communicating follow-up care to patients and their families.

• Signs of Potential Complications boxes help you recognize the signs and symptoms of complications and provide immediate interventions.

• Procedure boxes offer easy-to-use, step-by-step instructions for maternity skills and procedures.

• Emergency boxes may be used for quick reference in critical situations.

• Medication Guide boxes provide an important reference for common drugs and their interactions.

• Cultural Considerations boxes stress the importance of considering the beliefs and health practices of patients from various cultures when providing care.

• Family content emphasizes the importance of including family in the continuum of care.

• Nursing Care Plans include specific guidelines and rationales for interventions for delivering effective nursing care.

• Community Activity exercises introduce activities and nursing care in a variety of local settings.

• Student resources on the companion Evolve website include assessment and childbirth videos, animations, case studies, critical thinking exercises with answers, nursing skills, anatomy reviews, a care plan constructor, review questions, an audio glossary, and more.

• Content updates provide the most current practice guidelines, including expanded information on the late preterm infant and fetal heart rate pattern identification.

• New content on obesity provides the latest information on this increasingly common condition.

• Safety Alerts help in developing competencies related to safe nursing practice in conjunction with the QSEN initiative on quality and safety in nursing care.

• Updated Evidence-Based Practice boxes highlight current research to improve patient outcomes.

• Updated NICHD fetal monitoring standards provide guidelines reflecting current practice, as recommended by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

• Video clips on the companion Evolve website reinforce key skills performed in the maternity setting.

• Audio Key Points on Evolve make it easy to review core content while on the go.

• Streamlined nursing process information is summarized in boxes, making it easier to identify information on major diseases and conditions.

Nancy C. Barnum

This textbook contains a total of 47 chapters. The topics include care of the family during normal and complicated pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, care of the normal newborn and the newborn with complications, and women's health issues, This is the sixth edition of this textbook. The last edition was published in 1993. The authors state in the preface that the purpose of this text is ""to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to become competent, think critically, and possess the sensitivity they need to become caring nurses."" These are the goals that nursing faculty strive to meet through their teaching, and therefore, faculty that teach maternal/newborn nursing would find this text worth considering for their classes. Through the content presented in this text, the book has met the authors' objectives as stated above. This book was written for undergraduate nursing students for the course of maternal/newborn nursing. The authors are credible authorities in this subject matter, since all three are clinical specialists in the area of maternal/newborn nursing, and are, or have been, instructors of nursing. The text contains both black-and-white and color illustrations, which lend understanding to the topics being discussed. There is also good use of tables, graphs, and charts, which enhance the content. Current references are cited throughout the text, and used to support the topic content. The majority of these references are from works published in the last five years. The text contains two tables of contents: a ""contents in brief,"" in which only chapter titles are listed, and a very detailed table of contents, listing complete chapter and sectionbreakdowns, as well as appendixes. The overall appearance of the book is eye-catching and appealing. The illustrations and graphics add interest to the written text. Each chapter begins with a list of key terms used in that chapter, page numbers of related topics, and learning objectives. Throughout the chapter's critical thinking exercises, research highlights, and topics for nursing research are discussed. The book also contains several appendices that further illustrate content, as well as a thorough glossary. Other special features of this text include use of critical pathways, discussion of case management, use of plans of care with nursing diagnoses, and a chapter on perinatal home care. This text should be considered by faculty for use in their classes. The new features listed in the paragraph above are very helpful in moving students forward into a future-oriented practice.

Biography

Piotrowski, Karen A., RNC, MSN (D'Youville Coll)