Conception to Birth and Beyond

Complete maternity care from fertility through the postnatal period Maternity care spans a continuum that most references cover only in segments, leaving clinicians to consult multiple texts. Conception to Birth and Beyond: A Guide to Maternity Care unifies fertility, antenatal care, labour and birth, and postnatal care in a single volume. Contributors from midwifery, obstetrics, neonatology, anaesthesiology, psychiatry, and general practice across multiple countries provide multidisciplinary, internationally relevant coverage. Chapters reflect contemporary practice with coverage of non-traditional families, transgender care, domestic violence, and antenatal and neonatal vaccination. Dedicated sections address human factors, patient safety, and learning from adverse outcomes. Patient advocates contribute as authors, grounding clinical guidance in lived experience. Readers will also find: Coverage of subfertility diagnosis including tubal, ovulatory, male factor, and anatomical causes as well as unexplained infertilityDetailed review of assisted conception steps alongside the ethical and moral implications of fertility treatment decisionsGuidance on normal and pathological labour processes, assisted birth, caesarean birth, and analgesia options during labourPostnatal chapters addressing puerperal adaptation, maternal infection, perinatal psychiatry, infant feeding, and return to working lifeInternational perspectives on maternity and paternity leave policies reflecting care standards in both high-income and lower-income settingsDesigned for medical, midwifery, and nursing students as well as trainees and practitioners in obstetrics, anaesthesiology, general practice, paediatrics, and lactation consultancy, this book delivers the full-spectrum maternity reference needed for safe, shared decision-making across clinical settings worldwide.