This is the new and completely updated edition of a cornerstone midwifery textbook. Thoroughly overhauled to focus on modern clinical realities and with a clear emphasis on the normal, the textbook builds on its reputation for depth of information and breadth of scope, taking the midwifery student with confidence through the first days of study to the first days of qualified practice. New illustrations are added for this edition, to bring it fully up-to-date.