Intrapartum care has undergone profound changes over the past fifty years. Essential Midwifery Practice: Intrapartum Care takes a broad sweep to examine these changes and their intersection with midwifery, in particular their impact on the midwife’s role during labour and birth. It is an invaluable guide for all midwives.

Essential Midwifery Practice: Intrapartum Care addresses a wide range of topics including the evolution of intrapartum care, debates about knowledge, and childbirth education. It looks at birth environments, labour rhythms, working with pain, normal birth, unusual labours, and complementary therapies. Written by key experts and providing guidance on best practice, this unique and diverse text will bring readers up-to-date with the latest research and reflection in their specialist fields.

• Written by key experts in their respective fields coming together for the first time
• Provides comprehensive examination of normal birth practice
• Evidence-based, bringing you up-to-date with the latest research

Denis Walsh was born and brought up in Queensland but trained as a midwife in Leicester, UK.   His PhD was on the Birth Centre model and is now Associate Professor in Midwifery at the University of Nottingham.  He lectures on evidence and skills for normal birth internationally and is widely published on midwifery issues and normal birth.

Soo Downe spent 15 years working as a midwife in various clinical, research, and project development roles at Derby City General Hospital. She is now the Professor of Midwifery Studies at UCLan, where she leads the  Research in Childbirth and Health (ReaCH) group. She set up, and now coordinates, the annual international normal birth research conference series. Her main research focus is the nature of, and culture around, normal birth.