Books I highly recommend.......
Home Birth and Birth Centres...
Shelia Kitzinger - Birth Your Way
I recommend this book for anyone interested in home birth. It is an excellent resource for Student Midwives Midwives and women alike. Kitzinger uses asterisks in the text to refer to the evidence supporting her assertions, which are listed at the end of the text. So it can either be a light informative read or an invaluable resource for supporting all aspects of low tech midwifery. Very empowering.
Shelia Kitzinger - Rediscovering Birth
Discusses the much neglected spiritual aspects of birth along with fascinating cultural and social aspects. Looks at birth within many civilisations including the ancient Egyptians and the myths and taboos that have and still do surround pregnancy and childbirth. Examines the history of birth from the ancient Goddess worshiping matriarchal societies to modern media images. Considers differing attitudes to all areas of childbearing including positioning, birth attendants and pain relief. Also discusses some of the mistakes of modern obstetrics and the medicalisation of childbirth.
BUY IT
Essential Books for student midwives.....
Balliere's Midwives' Dictionary
My favourite of Myles and Mayes, your basic text which you will use frequently.
This is an excellent book for learning practical skills such as Blood Pressure measurement and abdominal examination etc...
Allison J (1995) Delivered at home
Donnison J (1998) Midwives and medical men
Hunt S, Symonds S, (1995) The Social meaning of
Midwifery
Niven (1992) Psychological care for families before,
During and After Birth
Page L (2000) The new Midwifery
Robertson A (1997) The Midwife companion
Oakley A (1984) The Captured Womb: a history of the medical care of pregnant women. Oxford Blackwell – history, medicalisation of childbirth etc..
Tew J (1995) Safer Childbirth: a critical history of maternity care (2nd edition) London Chapman & Hall
Where to buy cheap books....
BookBrain.co.uk - The smartest way to buy books on the web - finds the cheapest place for your book does not take availability into account
TALC Nursing & Midwifery - has a limited selection of very cheap midwifery texts including Myles
Amazon Books Home Page - not always the cheapest but reliable andd with a good selection and good availability, I shop around but still use Amazon most frequently because their availability is excellent
Tesco UK bookstore - I have not used them yet but they are often very competitively priced, although I've found they don't always have what I want in stock
