Normal childbirth should be the right of the majority:: not a chosen few. With the increasing risk of litigation, there is often a move to err on the side of caution and classify women as at risk if they present with even a hint of a problem. This is a contested area, with wide interpretation of terminology and midwives need to be aware of the wide parameters of normal in order to practise autonomously, effectively and safely. Soo Downe covers a wide variety of subjects, with international contributors giving the benefit of their expertise. This evidence-based text offers a widely applicable source book on multiple aspects of normal birth, proposing new approaches and paradigms for future research and practice.
Introduction Section 1: Ways of Seeing 1. From being to becoming: reconstructing childbirth knowledge 2. The role of pain in normal birth and the empowerment of women 3. Birth and spirituality Section 2: Aspects of normality 4. Normal birth: womens stories 5. Midwives practices in eleven UK maternity units 6. Midwives constructing normal birth Section 3: Evidence 7. Risk and safety 8. The early pushing urge: practice and discourse 9. Foetal to neonatal transition: first, do no harm 10. Promoting normal birth: weighing the evidence 11. Aspects of a controversy: summary and debate