Joan Donley's Compendium For A Healthy Pregnancy And A Normal Birth

Description

Written by New Zealand's best-known midwife, a home birth pioneer, this is an essential book for every midwifery student and mother-to-be. Joan Donley's compendium covers a wide range of topics, draws on the experience and evidence of her life's work, and challenges conventional thinking with wit and wisdom.

Reviews

"Written with her usual wit and humour, Joan provides a complete compendium of information to answer any question about having babies and keeping healthy. It will be a valuable resource for midwifes and is a must for all women wanting a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby ... " --Birthspirit

Author description

Joan's services to midwifery were formally acknowledged when she was awarded an Order of the British Empire. This was the first time such an award had been given for services to midwifery and helped to highlight the role of midwives in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Joan is a staunch advocate for keeping birth normal and avoiding unnecessary interventions that medicalise childbirth and disempower women. She is not only a fountain, but is also a very politically astute activist. She has achieved many things to advance the situation for women and midwives including the foundation of the homebirth movement and the Domiciliary Midwives Society in Aotearoa New Zealand at a time when the homebirth option was under threat and women were increasingly pressured to have their babies in hospital.

Joan has written: Herstory of NZ Homebirth Assocication, Save the Midwife, and this book Joan Donley's Compendium for a Healthy Pregnancy and a Normal Birth.

Table of contents

Section I: PRENATAL
Maternal environment, Fetal brain development, Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, Workplace hazards and rights
Section 2: GOOD NUTRITION
You are what you eat, Vitamins, Weed salad, Cereal/nuts/seeds... Dairy products, essential fatty acids, Transfatty acids (junk food), Antioxidants, Cholesterol, Prostaglandins  
Section 3: PREGNANCY PROBLEMS
Morning sickness, Anaemia, Haemorrhoids, Varicose veins, Benign Oedema, Carpal tunnel syndrome, Heartburn, Thrombocytopenia, Hypertensive disorders, Gestational diabetes mellitus, turning a breech
Section 4: TRANSMITTED CONDITIONS & INFECTIONS
Candida/Thrush, Cystitis, Genital herpes, Genital warts, Trichomoniasis, Gardenella/Bacterial vaginosis, Streptococcus, Gonorrhoea, Chlamydia, Giardia
Section 5: LABOUR PROBLEMS
Post-term pregnancy, Medical/surgical inductions, Episiotomy, Epidurals, Haemorrhage, Caesarian, Women's choice
Section 6: POSTNATAL
Baby skin care, Petrochemical fragrances, Baby feeding, Vitamin K, Neonatal jaundice, Postnatal emotional disorders

Appendix 1: ACUPUNCTURE POINTS  
Appendix 2: GLOSSARY