Perineal care - Christine Henderson

Achieving best practice in perineal care is one of the most widely debated issues in midwifery today. This important book describes for the first time in one volume a range of physiological, practice, education and policy issues to inform perineal management. Chapters are presented on anatomy and physiology, assessment of trauma, suturing methods and materials, clinical governance, postpartum health and challenges to implementing evidence-based practice. With contributions from internationally acknowledged experts, the book will be an invaluable resource for both clinicians and women.
Chapters are included on the anatomy of the pelvic floor, the management of perineal trauma, episiotomy, prevention of perineal trauma, the development of a perineal tear assessment tool, health after childbirth, and postpartum care of the perineum. Some chapters present evidence for the first time. A chapter specifically devoted to the issues faced by women who give birth in developing countries, such as obstetric fistula, is also included, highlighting the very real danger pregnancy and childbirth still present to millions of women in the twenty-first century. That maternal mortality and major morbidity continue to affect such huge numbers of women worldwide must be addressed if the lives of current and future generations of women nd their families are to improve.