Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Cochrane Pocketbook

by G. Justus Hofmeyr, James P. Neilson, Zarko Alfirevic, Caroline A. Crowther, Lelia Duley, Metin Gulmezoglu, Gillian M. L. Gyte, Ellen D. Hodnett

Overview

Pregnancy and Childbirth presents the best evidence for the care of pregnant women to doctors, midwives, students and parents.  The logical sequence of chapters and the index give quick access to the abstracts of over four hundred Cochrane systematic reviews.  The book serves both as a stand-alone reference, and as a companion to locating full reviews on the Cochrane Library.

The Cochrane Library is published by John Wiley on behalf of The Cochrane Collaboration.

  www.thecochranelibrary.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781119964858
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	08/10/2011
Series:	Wiley Cochrane Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	446
File size:	780 KB

Table of Contents

Foreword.

Preface.

How to use this book.

What is evidence?

The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group.

Scope of this book.

Methods for the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth.

Group reviews.

Abridgement of the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth abstracts in this book.

Systematic review protocols.

Effectiveness icons.

How to locate the original review.

A brief guide to the format of results in Cochrane reviews.

Acknowledgements.

Authors.

Chapter 1. The Context of Care for Pregnant Women.

Chapter 2. Antenatal Care.

2.1 Pre-pregnancy evaluation.

2.2 General antenatal care.

2.3 Behaviour/advice during pregnancy.

2.4 Nutrition during pregnancy.

2.5 Weight gain in pregnancy.

2.6 Symptoms during pregnancy.

2.7 Use of medicines during pregnancy.

2.8 Miscarriage.

Chapter 3. Medical Problems During Pregnancy.

3.1 Hypertension during pregnancy.

3.2 Anaemia during pregnancy.

3.3 Diabetes mellitus.

3.4 Thrombocytopenia.

3.5 Inherited coagulation defects.

3.6 Thrombophilias.

3.7 Haemoglobinopathies.

3.8 Thromboembolic disease.

3.9 Myasthenia Gravis.

3.10 Cardiac disease.

3.11 Renal disease.

3.12 Epilepsy.

3.13 Human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV).

3.14 Other viral infections.

3.15 Malaria.

3.16 Other infections.

3.17 Respiratory illness.

3.18 Liver disease.

3.19 Thyroid disease.

3.20 Haemorrhoids.

3.21 Psychiatric disorders.

3.22 Skin diseases.

Chapter 4. Disorders Affecting the Unborn Baby.

4.1 Routine assessment of the baby during pregnancy.

4.2 Prenatal diagnosis.

4.3 Impaired growth and wellbeing of the unborn baby.

4.4 Blood group incompatibilities – prevention and treatment.

4.5 Death of the unborn baby.

Chapter 5. Pregnancy Complications.

5.1 Prelabour rupture of membranes.

5.2 Preterm birth.

5.3 Prolonged pregnancy.

5.4 Multiple pregnancy.

5.5 Antepartum haemorrhage.

5.6 Infection during pregnancy.

Chapter 6. Induction of Labour.

6.1 Specific indications for labour induction.

6.2 Techniques of labour induction – primary reviews.

6.3 Techniques of labour induction – secondary reviews.

Chapter 7. Care During Childbirth.

7.1 Place of birth.

7.2 Routine care during labour.

7.3 Pain during labour.

7.4 Slow progress during labour.

7.5 Shoulder dystocia.

7.6 Abnormal presentations and positions of the baby.

7.7 Babies with compromised condition during labour .

7.8 Cord prolapse.

7.9 Perineal trauma.

7.10 Operative vaginal birth.

7.11 Caesarean section.

7.12 Pregnancy following caesarean section.

7.13 Extrauterine pregnancy.

7.14 Postpartum haemorrhage and retained placenta.

7.15 Inversion of the uterus.

Chapter 8. Care After Childbirth.

8.1 Basic care of mother and baby.

8.2 Perineal pain.

8.3 Family planning.

8.4 Perinatal death.

8.5 Medical conditions after childbirth.

8.6 Unhappiness after childbirth.

8.7 Breastfeeding.

Chapter 9. Rogues’ Gallery.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer:Gilad A. Gross, MD(Washington University School of Medicine)
Description:This is a synopsis of evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and Cochrane Reviews related to the care of women and infants before, during, and after pregnancy. The abstracts in the book are from the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group, as well as numerous other specific Cochrane Review Groups, such as those on anesthesia, depression/anxiety, infectious disease, and others.
Purpose:The purpose is to make evidence readily available in a user-friendly format to caregivers and policy makers. In this, the handbook presentation proves quite helpful. The ability to make evidence-based randomized controlled trials (RCT) easily accessible can be translated into helping clinical and policy/protocol decision making. This is necessary to help bridge the gap between researchers who generate evidence and practitioners who interpret and implement the data. The book does a good job.
Audience:According to the author, the audience for the book includes "public/private decision makers" and "health workers responsible for the care of childbearing women." In actuality, the audience could be much broader, including medical/midwifery students, obstetrics/gynecology physicians in training and current practice, family practitioners providing obstetric care, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, as well as hospital and nursing administration/leadership. Clinical researchers also can use this as a resource. The book largely meets the needs of the intended audience.
Features:The book is a summary of RCTs and Cochrane Reviews with links to the CochraneLibrary, covering topics that the Cochrane Reviews have attempted to study. It simply presents a synopsis of a review; it does not delve into the details of the studies, such as disease or condition etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, etc. All reviews are included, including those with definitive conclusions as well as those where reviews are still in progress (referred to as "systematic review protocols"). Studies with clear-cut evidence of either benefit or harm are noted by effectiveness icons. Overall, the presentation is clear and each entry is cross-referenced to the Cochrane Library via a CD number (relying on the reader having access to the Cochrane Library). It bears mentioning that evidence is limited to RCTs only, which some readers may consider a shortcoming. Additionally, because there is limited evidence in many areas of obstetrics (and partly due to the restriction of evidence to RCTs), several topics are not covered. However, this could help set priorities for research.
Assessment:This is a valuable summary of available evidence from RCTs for pregnancy and delivery care. The value of the book lies in its brevity and user-friendly format. However, since it is limited to RCTs, it fails to capture the entire body of evidence available to inform practice. Partly as a consequence of this and partly because it is characteristic of the field, there are evidence gaps in several areas of pregnancy and delivery care. However, as a portal of entry to the valuable Cochrane Database, this handbook is a unique and highly effective contribution to the field of evidence-based obstetrical care.

"Pregnancy and Childbirth presents the best evidence for the care of pregnant women to doctors, midwives, students and parents." (Doody's Reviews)

From the Publisher