Maternal-Health Books

If you're pregnant and can only read one book about childbirth, it should be this one. Written in an engaging but pragmatic journalistic style, this is a fabulously researched look at what has gone wrong in hospital delivery rooms, leading to a 33 percent C-section rate in America today.

This is a must read for any pregnant woman. It is a real eye opener into the medical practice and the reasoning behind many things that occur during child birth.

Having read the book and attended a book reading by the author, I was most amazed by this book because Ms. Block is not a mother. As a non-mother, outside of the birth community, she was able to offer unique insight that other authors of wonderful books missed. For instance, Ms. Block notes that the "back alley births" have replaced "back alley abortions" in many communities. Safe, natural childbirth is legally unavailable to women with previous c-sections, multiple births, and other risk factors in certain states with harsh laws against midwifery care. I also have summarized the talk she gave at Georgetown University on March 15, 2008 at http://mothersrights.blogspot.com/2008/03/talk-by-author-of-pushed.html.

This is the most important book that any expecting mother could read. This book reveals the truth about how hospital birth is not the best and safest way to have a baby. Mothers need to know that they do have a choice and that their pregnancy does not have to be treated as a disease. This book is eye-opening and empowering to all women whether pregnant or not.

My first (and only) birth was quite horrifying. After being induced because my contractions slowed the contractions became very painful, after 18 hours I asked for an epidural. The resident put the tube in wrong and the epidural didn't work properly, immobilizing my legs, but leaving the horrific contractions. After 30 hours the midwife broke my bag of waters and after 36 hours I had a fever and my son's heart rate was becoming erratic. They put me in for an emergency C-section, but gave the anesthesia through the same tube as the epidural. Well, it didn't work properly, and I felt almost everything during the 45 minute c-section, so long because my son was stuck and the doctor stopped midway to do a "cease and assess" and to formally complain about the overseeing anesthesiologist.

So! Bad things that you are totally unprepared for can happen! And while this book IS completely biased, it is better to know about all of the possibilities and be mentally prepared for them rather than be blindsided by them. If you are an intelligent woman/couple you can take from this book what it offers: perspective. It will also help you understand what you may and may not want to do during those "informed decision" times they tell you so much about during birthing classes. Yeah, you make the decisions, you can always ask for more information if you need it. Well, what they don't tell you is that if you ask your doctor, your doctor is biased, so if you don't do your own research going in you will do whatever your doctor says because it is the only opinion you have, besides your own, which seems meaningless and naive next to a doctor's recommendation.

Read it, be scared for a little while, and then know you are going into your birth with more information. I am pregnant again, I found that this book helped me decide what kind of physician I wanted to go with. My husband is very against home birth, and I understand his fears, he was traumatized by the first birth, too, he feels that we should still be in a hospital "just in case." So, this book helped me choose a doctor that understands that I want a "home birth" in a hospital. I hope it will help you, too.

This book is an excellent resource for studying for your OB/Maternity rotation. After having to read 30 chapters + for each of my maternity based tests, I would go through this book in sections and review (they outline some of the most important points to remember) and then go on to the review questions. I bought just about all of the prentice hall books. They are my favorite study aide thus far.

I am an LVN who has only worked in Med-Surg. I used this book to brush up for RN boards. It was a tremendous help! especially for those who attend flex programs that have limited clinical time. Well worth the purchase and a Easy read!

I purchased this book to be a specific review in this content for NCLEX since OB had been one of my first courses. It was wonderful in giving me all the info I was wanting to know. It gave pertinent assessment data, had chapters for each stage of the maternal process all the way through to normal/abnormal newborn, and it broke the info up into short chapters so studying it was easy to do during limited study hours. It also had a pre and post test for each chapter with NCLEX style questions, I loved that about this book. I would reccommend this to those studying for the NCLEX or as a study aid during your OB class.

This book is WONDERFUL! I can not tell you how this book really helped me prepare for my tests in OB. It was a terrific guide in helping study and land an "A". I would recommend this book to all nursing students...

I purchased this book at the beggining of my women's health class. First test out I had a 19 chaper test, with well over 300 pages to read. Probably more.I was totally stressing over all the pages I had to read and how I was gonna retain all this information in such a short period of time. So I started reading this book,which is basically an outline that covers the key information, and gets rid of the "fluff" that's in alot of text books. I did the 50 or so questions for every chapter and made sure it correlated with what was in my text book.A few days later I went to my class , took my test and got a B on it. I was so happy. So now I have another test coming up soon and once again I plan to study this book and eat the NCLEX questions that accompany it. Wish me luck! This book is a GODsend! If you're in Maternal Neonatal Nursing this is the book u should get. It is WELL WORTH the money!

The book was such a great help to me during OB rotation. It is written by the same people that wrote my textbook.It highlighted every thing needed from each chapter and it was like my Professors lecture was the outlines in the book it is a good tool to have

Good study aid! Outlines and practice questions and rationales for the NCLEX are helpful and easy to understand.

I like the book and i use it. What more it there to say.

I began my 6 week summer o/b class 10 days after giving birth to my baby girl. Of course a newborn takes up a lot of time, and fortunately someone recomended me this book. This book is so excellent that I hardly read my lecture book. Everything you need to know is clearly explained and straight to the point. If it wasn't for this book I might not have passed my course. I was nursing my baby with one arm, and the other holding this book and reading. I read and read... and I passed my class. A++ book

Great review book. I think it's a must for any student in mataernity nursing. This book gives you the 'meat and potatoes' of what you need to know. Very thorough. Good in depth descriptions on rationales.

I used this book along with the textbook and ACED the test!

This is the best book we've had in my RN, BSN program so far. The content is very easy to read. The sentences are kept short and to the point. The content is repeated over and over in different places in the chapters as well as throughout the book, making it easier to remember the main points. The summaries at the end of each chapter really focus on the main points and great for last minute updating. I wish all of our books in nursing school were this good.

This is the first time I buy from amazon and it was great. Very fast delivery. I will definetely buy through them again.

this is a great review for my nursing classes and career choic

Every profession should be so lucky to have someone write a book like this! Rooks has comprehensively and sytematically reviewed the scientific literature pertaining to the care of pregnant and birthing women and the issues of from whom, where, and under what conditions they receive care from health professionals. She writes in a readable, straightforward manner that makes her book useful and accessible to consumers and health care providers. The author is a Centers for Disease Control-educated epidemiologist and a certified nurse-midwife who has evaluated maternal and women's health programs abroad and conducted several major research projects in the United States.

Judith Pence Rooks has written the best book available in the subject of Midwifery. It is a complete history, and is extremely well-written. It includes a comprehensive bibliography. For those of us who have had multiple home-births it is an invaluable resource. This will doubtless be the standard reference for years to come. We hope it will encourage the home-birth movement, and the use of mid-wives, as a safer alternative to physicians, in the United States.

Most comprehensive review of the historic, political, legal, and economic forces which shaped the practice of midwifery in America.

Rooks is a great researcher and puts the facts down in readable language without blame on doctors nurses midwives or parents. Most objective book on this highly controversial subject matter.

This book helped me prepare for my test. I passed my course with good grades.

This book is well-organized and has tons of questions about the field of maternal-newborn nursing. My only problem (which obviously it's huge, as I still give this book 5 stars) is that the answers and their rationales are all at the END of each chapter, instead of on the same page a sthe question. It still is a wonderful study material to help you pass your class.

Without this book, I would not have achieved an "A" in peds and OB! This book is a MUST HAVE for all nursing students, as are all Nursetest books! The rationales are an excellent help when preparing for a test.

This book helped me pass NUR 112! The author really helped me to understand all the concepts of Maternal-Newborn Nursing. 5 star rating from me!

Sorrow's Web -- the book I've needed to read for decades. Ms. Sheffield deals with the subject of growing up with a depressive mother in such an insightful, intelligent, and honest way! I found recognition, understanding and comfort from her combination of the personal and the more "scientific" information. I urge mothers, daughters, sons -- and, yes -- fathers, to read this book. It has the potential profoundly affect your life and the life of those you love most.

This balanced, frank, and insightful account will make a difference in a lot of lives. Thoroughly explores and illustrates the many aspects and consequences of maternal depression in detail, is packed with valuable observations and information - no wasted words here. Devoted to straight talk. Sheffield offers knowledgeable support to her reader, does not flinch from using her own experiences to illustrate her points, and provides clear, practical advice on therapy choices with no waffling on any of the challenges we will meet in seeking the right treatment for ourselves or others close to us. Provides lists of resources for information, newsletters, local support groups. An illuminating and much needed book.

This is an extraordinary book -- sensitive, revealing and READABLE. I only wish I had it thirty years ago!

Sheffield's biggest contribution may offering an answer to those who have struggled with chronic depression: "Why have I always felt so strange? Where did this all come from?" In other words, the fallout from living with a mother who is depressed -- even someone who has never been identified as "depressed" -- can have lifelong consequences. The book will probably convince those who have been reluctant to get treatment to do so. Much of the rest is a standard round-up of recent literature and the usual advice on what to do when you are depressed --take medication, find a therapist - maybe. Despite its failings and its occasionally cutesy writing, it's probably the book about depression that has been the most personally helpful. I'd give this five stars for the idea and three for the execution.

Great job! Got the book fast and the book was in a great condition with the CD!

I used this book for my Ob semester of nursing school. This book along with the disk helped me get wonderful grades in the semester. This semester is very hard, but using this book made it very easy. I HIGHLY recommended this book to everyone who is in or going to nursing school. This book is great. It actually covers material the instructors lectured on. The questions on the disk were very similiar to the questions on the nursing tests. It helps you understand maternity and neonatal.

This is a great book......would recommend this to any nursing student. It really helped me get through nursing level 2. It really breaks the important material down and makes it easier to understand. The CD has Nclex type questions that are really helpful as well.

If you have one of those large texts that you have to read and just dont have the time- this is the perfect middle man! It cuts to the chase- gives you all you need to know in relation to the facts- I read my big text for the nursing know how's for how to care for the new mom- but this is great to get just what you need to know for the tests! I love this book- in fact all of the straight a's books are great as well- my teacher in fact wanted to use this book as the actual text, she liked it so much. Really a great investment- This was a great read too- not boring like some other texts- kept me very interested!

I bought this book at the request of my 26 yr old son because it was recommended by his professor during his ob/gyn clinical rotation in nursing school. He told me he used the book to help complete his assignments and it was easy to use and had quality information. Yeah!!!He passed the semester with flying colors. Grateful Mom

Exactly what I needed for clinical- came quickly and in perfect condition.

I received my brand new book two days before expected. I am pleased with my order and would order with company again.

In a textbook review process designed for ABSN students on March 23, 2006, at the Duke School of Nursing, students reviewed, rated and chose this new text as their textbook for their summer 2006 course: The Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family.

As the course coordinator, I have become increasingly frustrated with the ongoing complaints of students about the size and "massive" amounts of material presented in the classic, maternity nursing text books. In frustration and in an attempt to be more sensitive to the adult learners (the ABSN students) I organized a team of 8 students who reviewed 12 contemporary maternity texts published or reissued in the last 12 months.

Hands down this was the #1 student choice. Students cited: the concise format, synthesis of core information, easy to understand nursing actions, readable charts, illustrations accompanied by real pictures, small size, and attractive cover as reasons for their choice. One students summed it up when she said, "When I look at this text book, I just know I can read it. It does not feel so overwhelming to me as a student."

While the author says it was designed for students in an ADN program, I would say it would be suitable for any beginning student. It has a very usuable on-line review section for students and a CD that accompanies the book.

While the vote is not in if the students will read the assigned readings in this text, I am confident that I am starting out the course with a text that is at least "user friendly" to students. I am very pleased with the choice of this textbook and would recommend it be given a review by maternity faculty and students.
Helen Gordon CNM, MS
Course Coordinator Duke School of Nursing