Reviewer: Rebeca Barroso, DNP, MSN (Saint Catherine University)
Description: This book delves into basic women's health, maternal, and pediatric nursing that nurses must acquire to provide safe, satisfying, and cost-effective care.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide readers with the specifics of the many aspects of women's health, maternal, and pediatric nursing within the context of 21st century's nursing focus and realities.
Audience: The intended audience is student nurses.
Features: In 51 chapters and 11 units, the book includes previously overlooked components that impact nursing care, such as the global society, culture, maternal-fetal conflict, informed consent and assent, client rights, and client refusal of treatment. In the first part of the book, the chapter contributors provide a framework based on the current knowledge base that addresses the perspectives on maternal and child health as well as the clinical, legal, and ethical components for caring for women and children. The core components of caring for women and children are directly addressed including the need for family-centered care, evidence-based care, collaborative care, atraumatic care, communication, and education. The essential knowledge base and clinical conundrums associated with women's health throughout the lifespan, pregnancy, labor and birth, childbirth at risk, the postpartum period, the newborn, and the newborn at risk are explored holistically. There is an open exploration of social and cultural needs that may support or be at odds with nursing care.
Assessment: Chapters start with thought-provoking Words of Wisdom (WOW) providing material that readily adapts to class discussions. Readers' attention is called to evidence-based practice as not only a key feature of the textbook, but as a key feature of nursing practice. In addition to the expected case studies, there are unfolding patient stories, clinical reasoning alerts, and Healthy People 2030 outlined in box format. The most unique feature of this textbook, which sets it apart from most others covering the same subject matter, is its focus on framing nursing care within a social and individual-specific context. Readers are presented with tools to promote patient education and offer guidance that is supportive of patient rights and autonomy. This textbook provides an innovative, pertinent, and clinically sound approach to educate student nurses on women's health care, maternity, and pediatric care.
