Joan Donley's Compendium for a Healthy Pregnancy and a Normal Birth by Joan Donley

Price: NZ$39.50 (add to order)

First Edition 2003 in New Zealand; 402 pages; 14.8cm wide x 21cm high;

Index to this page:

Table of Contents; About the Author; Book Reviews;

Table of Contents:

Section I: PRENATAL
Maternal environment, Fetal brain development, Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, Workplace hazards and rights
Section 2: GOOD NUTRITION
You are what you eat, Vitamins, Weed salad, Cereal/nuts/seeds... Dairy products, essential fatty acids, Transfatty acids (junk food), Antioxidants, Cholesterol, Prostaglandins  
Section 3: PREGNANCY PROBLEMS
Morning sickness, Anaemia, Haemorrhoids, Varicose veins, Benign Oedema, Carpal tunnel syndrome, Heartburn, Thrombocytopenia, Hypertensive disorders, Gestational diabetes mellitus, turning a breech
Section 4: TRANSMITTED CONDITIONS & INFECTIONS
Candida/Thrush, Cystitis, Genital herpes, Genital warts, Trichomoniasis, Gardenella/Bacterial vaginosis, Streptococcus, Gonorrhoea, Chlamydia, Giardia
Section 5: LABOUR PROBLEMS
Post-term pregnancy, Medical/surgical inductions, Episiotomy, Epidurals, Haemorrhage, Caesarian, Women's choice
Section 6: POSTNATAL
Baby skin care, Petrochemical fragrances, Baby feeding, Vitamin K, Neonatal jaundice, Postnatal emotional disorders

Appendix 1: ACUPUNCTURE POINTS  
Appendix 2: GLOSSARY  
 
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About the Author:

Joan's services to midwifery were formally acknowledged when she was awarded an Order of the British Empire. This was the first time such an award had been given for services to midwifery and helped to highlight the role of midwives in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Joan is a staunch advocate for keeping birth normal and avoiding unnecessary interventions that medicalise childbirth and disempower women. She is not only a fountain, but is also a very politically astute activist. She has achieved many things to advance the situation for women and midwives including the foundation of the homebirth movement and the Domiciliary Midwives Society in Aotearoa New Zealand at a time when the homebirth option was under threat and women were increasingly pressured to have their babies in hospital.

Joan has written: Herstory of N Z Homebirth Association, Save the Midwife, and this book Joan Donley's Compendium for a Healthy Pregnancy and a Normal Birth.

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Book Reviews:

Foreword by Judi Strid    :

There is no other book quite like this one and we have waited a long time for it.  It challenges conventional ways of thinking yet has been thoroughly researched, is based on evidence and makes good sense. Written with her usual wit and humour, Joan provides a complete compendium of information to answer any question about having babies and keeping healthy.  It will be a valuable resource for midwives and is a must for all women wanting a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. As the well-established matriarch of midwifery, Joan's knowledge and wisdom is widely recognised and in great demand. Her expertise, qualities as a mentor and role model, as well as her commitment to women and midwifery are highly valued both nationally and internationally. 

Her services to midwifery were formally acknowledged when she was awarded an OBE. This was the first time such an award had been given for services to midwifery and helped to highlight the role of midwives in Aotearoa. Joan is a staunch advocate for keeping birth normal and avoiding unnecessary interventions that medicalise childbirth and disempower women. She is not only a fountain, but is also a very politically astute activist. She has achieved many things to advance the situation for women and midwives including the foundation of the homebirth movement and the Domiciliary Midwives Society at a time when the homebirth option was under threat and women were increasingly pressured to have their babies in hospital.

In the 1980's she had a key role in the establishment of the New Zealand College of Midwives when the actual survival of midwifery in this country was seriously under threat.
The much praised midwifery standards review process that serves as a model for all health professions evolved from Joan's efforts to ensure domiciliary midwifery practice was provided to a high standard and not undermined by a disapproving medical profession. The review process is now available for all midwives, and the active involvement of consumers in the review process continues to this day.

Joan has been a pioneer in many areas. However the importance of midwives as health professionals working in partnership with women has been a particular campaign of hers. She led the way with working with women as partners and gave others the confidence to follow in her footsteps.

I feel privileged to have been able to work alongside Joan for many years and to have the honour of acknowledging her work and its importance to the women of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
She is truly one of our treasures.

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