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Midwives magazine: Issue 3 :: 2011

Author: Lynette A Ament
Publisher: Jones and Bartlett Publishers
ISBN: 9780763728366
Price: £32.99


Review by Jayne Marshall

This is an interesting text that focuses on the midwifery profession in the US. It is written by senior experts in the field, all of whom are certified nurse-midwives. It provides a comprehensive text relating to a range of professional issues.

The book begins with chapters on the relationships between the various types of midwives, including licensed independent practitioners and the nursing and medical profession. Unlike the UK, the US has no national health service to finance health care and maternity/neonatal care provision. It is therefore imperative that the US midwife is fully conversant with the various payment schemes for maternity care and understands the rules with submitting claims and getting paid. The chapter on managed care and payment provides a comprehensive discussion of each form of payment the midwife should be familiar with.

Further chapters explore legislation and public policy development, legal and ethical issues, negligent practice and liability, and the midwife’s scope of practice. The value of research and evidence-based practice, quality management and improvement, as well as the midwife having a professional responsibility to lead changes and initiate practice improvements, draw out similarities with contemporary midwifery in the UK.

Overall it is well-written, with clear objectives set in the preface. Every chapter has its own specific learning objectives, with many including exercises for midwives to practice.

Specific resources, available from the American College of Nurse-Midwives, are listed for midwives to collect and keep accessible within their files. However, the value of this text to midwives outside the US is limited, albeit a useful resource to compare practice and professional issues from an international perspective. It could be of particular use to student midwives contemplating an elective placement in the US or to midwives wishing to experience US practice to further develop their career.