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Low birth weight: A medical, psychological, and social study
neither dry nor overwhelmingly technical. The author carefully attempts to present alternatives and options when available, with the segment on estrogen replacement as one example. Information is up to date. The bibliography and reference lists are extensive, varied, and current, with most resources dated after 1981. Henig’s writing is casual, flowing, and very readable. Nurse-midwives will find the book valuable for teaching purposes as well as recommended reading for their clients. Although most CNMs do not deal with older woman clients, this book can be used nicely for personal edification, to understand what family, friends, even ourselves may experience throughout the process of getting older. Occasionally, it is refreshing to read a well-researched publication that does not have a textbook format. I am particularly impressed by two aspects of the book. First, I share the author’s belief that an attitudinal change is necessary in American society; only with a more positive view of the aging process and of elderly people as valuable members of our society will getting older cease to be the dreaded and depressing phenomenon it is for many individuals. Second, I applaud Henig’s emphasis on self-determination. She urges women to accept responsibility for their own lives and well-being, and to develop and use their own resources and strengths. This attractive and interesting book presents a very positive and realistic approach to the issue of women and aging. I enthusiastically recommend How a Woman Ages. The Working Parents
Survival
Guide.
By Sally Wendkos Olds. New York: Bantam Books, 1983. 318 pages. $6.95, softcover. Reviewed by: Lyn Finelli, MS, CPNP, Associate in Nursing, Columbia University, School of Nursing, New York, NY.
“The working parent is here to stay,” exclaims Ms. Olds, and with her book The Working Parents Suruiual Guide, she has made life a little easier for the working mother and her family. Ms. Olds has created and compiled (with the assistance of over 100 working parents) a collection of hints from which any earnest but exhausted working parent can benefit. This book is an oasis in the desert of dunes of dishes and dirty laundry. It contains 16 164
chapters full of lists and tables. The first four of these address getting started as a working mother. Ms. Olds drives you forward with the assurance that the kids won’t suffer, and you’ll be better off both in the short- and long-run for working (documented by the latest social science research). The next five chapters review options for child care in a scrupulously detailed manner from grandmothers to sponsoring a foreign-born worker. The final seven chapters discuss home life and family dynamics. Although Ms. Olds does address the single, working parent household in Chapter 13, the book is extremely sensitive to two-, as well as oneparent households, throughout. Says Ms. Olds, “the existence of so many successful working parents demonstrates how feasible the impossible can be.” Let us hope so. Low Birth Weight: A Medical, Psychological, and Social Study. Edited by
Raymond Illsley and Ross G. Mitchell. New York John Wiley and Sons, 1984. 272 pages. $52.00, hardcover. Reviewed
by: Carol Nichols, CNM, MSN,
Associate Professor, Maternal-Newborn Nursing/Nurse-Midwifery Program, Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT. This book presents the results of the Aberdeen, Scotland, Low Birth Weight Study, which was in progress between 1966 and 1985. The purpose of the study was to examine the epidemiology of the low birth weight (LBW) infant within a total, geographically defined population. A control series of infants over 2500 g at birth were matched for social class, maternal height, birth order, smoking habits, and sex of child. A massive amount of data is contained in this book, which is organized into 100 tables and 27 figures. The data and statistical analysis demonstrate some fundamental relationships for both the mothers and their LBW infants, eg, mothers of LBW infants were less efficient obstetritally, their sociocultural background was poorer in many respects, and these maternal factors were of more importance than the husbands occupational classification. Additionally, this study examined outcomes as much as 10 years after birth. Results indicate that the LBW children were still lighter, shorter, and had more neurologic disorders and impairment of intelligence than the control sub-
jects, especially if the LBW was due to impaired prenatal growth rather than a shortened gestation. The authors also discuss implications for health policy and for clinical care, emphasizing the importance of influencing environmental factors early in the reproductive lives of women. This book is a wealth of detailed information, both about the LBW infant and about how to conduct epidemiologic research. Some chapters are quite clear to the clinically oriented reader, whereas others are more technical, focusing on analytic strategy. The references are extensive, but most are from the 195Os, 196Os, and 1970s. The weaknesses of the Aberdeen study are relatively few for such an ambitious undertaking, and are spelled out clearly by the authors in beginning chapters. This book is fascinating reading for the clinician, epidemiologist, or researcher, and imparts a breadth and depth of wisdom on the LBW infant that has not been equalled in another study to date. Postpartum Nursing: Health Care of Women. By Joellen W. Hawkins and
Beverly Gorvine. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 1985. 178 pages. $16.95, softcover. Reviewed
by: Cynthia Bechtel, CNM, graduate student, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. MSN,
Postpartum care is a phase of women’s health which has, too often, been relegated to back-seat status, behind labor and birth. Because there is a dearth of literature specific to this topic, I was eager to review Postpartum Nursing. Both authors of this book have excellent credentials as educators and practitioners in maternal-child health, but unfortunately, they have added a rather mediocre contribution to the literature. Written for postpartum nurses, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate nursing students caring for families in the hospital setting, the book is intended as a supplement to basic maternity textbooks. The preface reveals the stated objectives: To “explore theoy in the field, describe application of one nursing model to a practice setting, and delineate nursing interventions for families in the postpartum setting.” A crisis nursing model is used as the basis for augmenting coping mechanisms and promoting wellness for the mother and
Journal of Nurse-Midwifery
?? Vol.
31, No. 3, May/June
1986
Survival
Guide.
By Sally Wendkos Olds. New York: Bantam Books, 1983. 318 pages. $6.95, softcover. Reviewed by: Lyn Finelli, MS, CPNP, Associate in Nursing, Columbia University, School of Nursing, New York, NY.
“The working parent is here to stay,” exclaims Ms. Olds, and with her book The Working Parents Suruiual Guide, she has made life a little easier for the working mother and her family. Ms. Olds has created and compiled (with the assistance of over 100 working parents) a collection of hints from which any earnest but exhausted working parent can benefit. This book is an oasis in the desert of dunes of dishes and dirty laundry. It contains 16 164
chapters full of lists and tables. The first four of these address getting started as a working mother. Ms. Olds drives you forward with the assurance that the kids won’t suffer, and you’ll be better off both in the short- and long-run for working (documented by the latest social science research). The next five chapters review options for child care in a scrupulously detailed manner from grandmothers to sponsoring a foreign-born worker. The final seven chapters discuss home life and family dynamics. Although Ms. Olds does address the single, working parent household in Chapter 13, the book is extremely sensitive to two-, as well as oneparent households, throughout. Says Ms. Olds, “the existence of so many successful working parents demonstrates how feasible the impossible can be.” Let us hope so. Low Birth Weight: A Medical, Psychological, and Social Study. Edited by
Raymond Illsley and Ross G. Mitchell. New York John Wiley and Sons, 1984. 272 pages. $52.00, hardcover. Reviewed
by: Carol Nichols, CNM, MSN,
Associate Professor, Maternal-Newborn Nursing/Nurse-Midwifery Program, Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT. This book presents the results of the Aberdeen, Scotland, Low Birth Weight Study, which was in progress between 1966 and 1985. The purpose of the study was to examine the epidemiology of the low birth weight (LBW) infant within a total, geographically defined population. A control series of infants over 2500 g at birth were matched for social class, maternal height, birth order, smoking habits, and sex of child. A massive amount of data is contained in this book, which is organized into 100 tables and 27 figures. The data and statistical analysis demonstrate some fundamental relationships for both the mothers and their LBW infants, eg, mothers of LBW infants were less efficient obstetritally, their sociocultural background was poorer in many respects, and these maternal factors were of more importance than the husbands occupational classification. Additionally, this study examined outcomes as much as 10 years after birth. Results indicate that the LBW children were still lighter, shorter, and had more neurologic disorders and impairment of intelligence than the control sub-
jects, especially if the LBW was due to impaired prenatal growth rather than a shortened gestation. The authors also discuss implications for health policy and for clinical care, emphasizing the importance of influencing environmental factors early in the reproductive lives of women. This book is a wealth of detailed information, both about the LBW infant and about how to conduct epidemiologic research. Some chapters are quite clear to the clinically oriented reader, whereas others are more technical, focusing on analytic strategy. The references are extensive, but most are from the 195Os, 196Os, and 1970s. The weaknesses of the Aberdeen study are relatively few for such an ambitious undertaking, and are spelled out clearly by the authors in beginning chapters. This book is fascinating reading for the clinician, epidemiologist, or researcher, and imparts a breadth and depth of wisdom on the LBW infant that has not been equalled in another study to date. Postpartum Nursing: Health Care of Women. By Joellen W. Hawkins and
Beverly Gorvine. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 1985. 178 pages. $16.95, softcover. Reviewed
by: Cynthia Bechtel, CNM, graduate student, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. MSN,
Postpartum care is a phase of women’s health which has, too often, been relegated to back-seat status, behind labor and birth. Because there is a dearth of literature specific to this topic, I was eager to review Postpartum Nursing. Both authors of this book have excellent credentials as educators and practitioners in maternal-child health, but unfortunately, they have added a rather mediocre contribution to the literature. Written for postpartum nurses, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate nursing students caring for families in the hospital setting, the book is intended as a supplement to basic maternity textbooks. The preface reveals the stated objectives: To “explore theoy in the field, describe application of one nursing model to a practice setting, and delineate nursing interventions for families in the postpartum setting.” A crisis nursing model is used as the basis for augmenting coping mechanisms and promoting wellness for the mother and
Journal of Nurse-Midwifery
?? Vol.
31, No. 3, May/June
1986