Praise for the previous edition:

An outstanding handbook. It will be a familiar volume on most midwifery bookshelves, providing an excellent guide to midwifery focused care of both woman and child in the birthing setting.
-Nursing Times Online

Providing a practical and comprehensive guide to midwifery care,The Midwifes Labour and Birth Handbookcontinues to promote best practice and a safe, satisfying birthing experience with a focus on women-centred care.

Covering all aspects of care during labour and birth, from obstetric emergencies to the practicalities of perineal repair (including left-hand suturing), the fourth edition has been fully revised and updated to include:

It also addresses important issues such as:

Incorporating research, evidence and anecdotal observations, The Midwifes Labour and Birth Handbook remains an essential resource for both student midwives and experienced practising midwives.

VICKY CHAPMAN has worked as a midwife in a variety of hospital settings and as a caseload midwife and visiting lecturer. She has a particular interest in normal birth, as well as the politics of childbirth and their impact on women's birth experiences. Vicky has four children; three were born at home, including twins.

CATHY CHARLES is a midwife and ventouse practitioner, practising in acute and community settings. She has been a clinical audit/risk management co-ordinator, a visiting lecturer and a supervisor of midwives. She also teaches aquanatal classes.

Preface vii

Contributors ix

1 Labour and normal birth 1
Cathy Charles

2 Vaginal examinations and amniotomy 49
Vicky Chapman

3 Fetal heart rate monitoring in labour 61
Bryony Read

4 Perineal trauma and suturing 75
Vicky Chapman

5 Examination of the newborn baby at birth 105
Caroline Rutter

6 Home birth 123
Cathy Charles

7 Water for labour and birth 139
Cathy Charles

8 Malpositions and malpresentations in Labour 155
Vicky Chapman

9 Slow progress in labour 171
Vicky Chapman

10 Assisted birth: ventouse and forceps 189
Cathy Charles

11 Caesarean section 211
Cathy Charles

12 Vaginal birth after caesarean section 227
Vicky Chapman

13 Preterm birth 239
Charlise Adams

14 Breech birth 257
Lesley Shuttler

15 Twins and higher order births 285
Jo Coggins

16 Obstetric haemorrhage 297
Hannah Bailey

17 Emergencies in labour and birth 315
Hannah Bailey

18 Neonatal and maternal resuscitation 339
Nick Castle

19 Induction of labour 353
Cathy Charles

20 Pre?]eclampsia and diabetes 367
Annette Briley

21 Stillbirth and neonatal death 385
Cathy Charles

22 Risk management, litigation and complaints 407
Cathy Charles

23 Intrapartum blood tests 417
Vicky Chapman

24 Medicines and the midwife 433
Vicky Chapman

Index 441