Intrapartum care has undergone profound changes over the past fifty years.Essential Midwifery Practice: Intrapartum Care takes a broad sweep to examine these changes and their intersection with midwifery, in particular their impact on the midwifes role during labour and birth. It is an invaluable guide for all midwives.

Essential Midwifery Practice: Intrapartum Care addresses a wide range of topics including the evolution of intrapartum care, debates about knowledge, and childbirth education. It looks at birth environments, labour rhythms, working with pain, normal birth, unusual labours, and complementary therapies. Written by key experts and providing guidance on best practice, this unique and diverse text will bring readers up-to-date with the latest research and reflection in their specialist fields.

Written by key experts in their respective fields coming together for the first timeProvides comprehensive examination of normal birth practiceEvidence-based, bringing you up-to-date with the latest research

Denis Walsh was born and brought up in Queensland but trained as a midwife in Leicester, UK.   His PhD was on the Birth Centre model and is now Associate Professor in Midwifery at the University of Nottingham.  He lectures on evidence and skills for normal birth internationally and is widely published on midwifery issues and normal birth.

Soo Downe spent 15 years working as a midwife in various clinical, research, and project development roles at Derby City General Hospital. She is now the Professor of Midwifery Studies at UCLan, where she leads the  Research in Childbirth and Health (ReaCH) group. She set up, and now coordinates, the annual international normal birth research conference series. Her main research focus is the nature of, and culture around, normal birth.

Contributors.

Introduction(Denis Walsh).

Chapter 1 Evolution of Current Systems of Intrapartum Care(Denis Walsh).

Chapter 2 Debates about Knowledge and Intrapartum Care(Soo Downe).

Chapter 3 Childbirth Education: Politics, Equality and Relevance(Mary Nolan).

Chapter 4 Birth Environment(Denis Walsh).

Chapter 5 Labour Rhythms(Denis Walsh).

Chapter 6 Evidence for Neonatal Transition and the First Hour of Life(Judith Mercer and Debra Erikson-Owens).

Chapter 7 Midwifery Presence: Philosophy, Science and Art(Holly Powell Kennedy, Tricia Anderson and Nicky Leap).

Chapter 8 Skills for Working with (the Woman in) Pain(Rosemary Mander).

Chapter 9 Complementary Therapies in Labour: A Woman-Centred Approach(Denise Tiran).

Chapter 10 Midwifery Skills for Normalising Unusual Labours(Verena Schmid and Soo Downe).

Chapter 11 Psychology and Labour Experience: Birth as a Peak Experience(Gill Thompson).

Chapter 12 Sexuality in Labour and Birth: An Intimate Perspective(Sarah Buckley).

Chapter 13 Spirituality and Labour Care(Jenny Hall).

Chapter 14 How Midwives Should Organise to Provide Intrapartum Care(Chris McCourt).

Chapter 15 Feminisms and Intrapartum Care(Mary Stewart).

Chapter 16 Towards Salutogenic Birth in the 21stCentury(Soo Downe).

Index.