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Midwives magazine: Issue 5 :: 2011

Edited by: Yana Richens and Tina Lavender
Publisher: Quay Books
ISBN: 1856423883
Price: £24.99

Review by Nicola Heslehurst

This is an excellent resource for midwives as it covers all aspects of care relating to maternal obesity.

The introductory chapter is particularly good as it sets the scene. Reading about bariatric (weight-loss) surgery and the psychological relationship with maternal obesity proved to be quite enlightening for me.

Midwives should find learning more about these subjects useful as there is an absence of this type of information summarised for healthcare professionals.

I enjoyed the opening chapter more than the others, although they too were interesting and discussed topics not often covered at obesity or midwifery conferences, or within guidelines, in any great depth.

Some information does get a little repetitive as you read through the chapters. For example, the Institute of Medicine’s weight gain guidelines and the complications identified by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health report on maternal and perinatal mortality crop up a lot.

Some data is a little bit out of date too, such as the national statistics for maternal obesity. However, the authors do state from the beginning that they have as far as possible used the latest information and statistics. I also noticed a number of typos and spelling mistakes throughout the chapters, but overall I found the book provided a comprehensive review of the evidence base for a range of issues pertinent to current midwifery practice.

The authors have written in an accessible manner that midwives should be able to interpret within their clinical practice.

The book would also be relevant to any healthcare professionals across maternity services as the content deals with a range of healthcare issues.