The Students Guide to Becoming a Midwife is essential reading for all student midwives.

Now updated to include the latest 2012 NMC Midwifery Rules and Standards and a brand new chapter on the midwife and public health, this comprehensive resource provides a wide range of need-to-know information for student midwives, including:

With case studies, words of wisdom from current midwives and a range of activities and self-test questions throughout making it easy to learn and understand key concepts The Students Guide to Becoming a Midwife is the ideal companion for students throughout their course.

About the editors

Professor Ian Peate is Visiting Professor, University of West London, and Editor-in-Chief of theBritish Journal of Nursing.

Cathy Hamilton is Senior Lecturer of Midwifery at the University of Hertfordshire and Supervisor of Midwives at West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust.

contributors iv

Preface to the Second Edition vii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

1 Effective Communication 8

2 Effective Documentation 26

3 Confidentiality 41

4 The Aims of Antenatal Care 57

5 Programmes of Care During Childbirth 72

6 Interprofessional Working: Seamless Working within Maternity Care 88

7 Intrapartum Care 102

8 Effective Emergency Care 131

9 Initial Assessment and Examination of the Newborn Baby 156

10 Effective Postnatal Care 172

11 Medication and the Midwife 198

12 The Midwife and Public Health 214

13 Regulating the Midwifery Profession 230

14 The Impact of Cultural Issues on the Practice of Midwifery 249

15 Legislation and the Midwife 261

16 Decision Making 277

17 Health, Safety and Environmental Issues 293

18 Evidence-Based Practice 312

19 Statutory Supervision of Midwives 329

20 Clinical Governance:A Framework for Improving Quality in Maternity Care 345

Answers to Quiz Questions 365

Glossary 374

Index 381