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Mosby’s handbook of herbs and natural supplements, 2nd edition
Childbirth Education: Practice, Research and Theory, 2nd edition Edited by Nichols F, Humenick S. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders Co., 2000. 731 pages. $64.95, hardcover. Reviewed by: Jan Weingrad Smith, CNM, MS, MPH, Nurse Midwifery Education Program, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA Francine Nichols and Sharron Humenick have taken a classic text and made it even better and more useful. In this day of evidence-based practice, it is important to document that the strategies used to educate childbearing families is based in fact and not fiction. Both editors combine the theoretical foundation of academia with expertise in the field of childbirth education. Dr. Nichols is Professor and Coordinator of Women’s Health at Georgetown University’s School of Nursing. As Associate Editor of the Journal of Perinatal Education, she regularly reviews the state of the art in education practice for the childbearing year. Dr. Humenick is Professor and Chair of the Maternal Child Nursing Department at the Virginia commonwealth University School of Nursing in Richmond, Virginia. She is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Perinatal Education and has presented her research internationally. Both are Lamaze Certified childbirth educators whose practical experience gives them a window onto the needs of families as they prepare for birth. Contributors to this edition reflect a broad spectrum of highly qualified and well-known experts in the field of childbirth education and family support during childbearing. In addition to the editors, these include Penny Simkin discussing labor support, Sigrid Nelsson-Ryan, Faculty of Lamaze International, and Lamaze International Vice President Sandra Apgar Steffes addressing relaxation imagery, sexuality expert Pamela Shrock, and others. Starting with an overview of childbirth education, the authors present a conceptual framework that guides the educational process. There is a helpful discussion of teaching, learning, and group process, which may assist facilitators in making conscious decisions about information presentation. Childbirth education is adult education, a process that goes beyond information exchange from teacher to student, involving interaction and discovery. The outcome objective of adult education is mastery of teamwork. As the original proponents of childbirth education in our country age and move on to other activities, there is a strong possibility that the rich history of the beginning of the childbirth movement could be lost. Nichols and Humenick have cataloged this history in an early chapter to provide a foundation of time-honored strategies for the reader and then go on to show the evidence that supports these strategies. Each chapter ends with a discussion of the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health • www.jmwh.org © 2004 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives Issued by Elsevier Inc.
topics’ implication for practice and research. The appendices include audiovisual resources, publications for childbirth educators, literature, a variety of funding sources and World Wide Web resources, and the Ten Steps of the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative for Mother-Friendly Hospitals, Birth Centers, and Home Birth Services. One strength of the text is its broad focus. It includes topics such as sexuality in the perinatal period, alternative measures for pain relief such as acupuncture and an entire section on promoting wellness, which includes nutrition, exercise, and stress management. Chapters on childbirth education for teens and consumer-provider relationships round out the breadth of application. Childbirth education is a professional practice. For some clinicians it is part of what they do and for others it is their practice. Chapters on program evaluation, negotiation and conflict resolution, and professional practice provide business-oriented information needed to develop a business with a firm foundation. The final chapter focuses on evidence-based practice. This text is not a short read. It is written for college-level readers and it is unlikely to be read cover to cover. The most useful place for such a text is in an educational program or as a reference guide rather than a practical how-to manual. The amount of material covered and the depth of teaching learning theory applied, while important, may make using this book a daunting task in the office or busy clinic. As a resource for the education of childbearing families, Childbirth Education: Practice, Research and Theory by Nichols and Humenick belongs on the shelf of every midwifery practice. Mosby’s Handbook of Herbs and Natural Supplements, 2nd edition By Linda Skidmore-Roth. St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 2004. 1073 pages. $36.95, paperback. Reviewed by: Gretchen Brauer-Rieke, MSN, CNM, Owner: BirthWise Alternative Birthing Service, Walla Walla, WA. Almost half of all health care consumers are estimated to [be using] some form of herbal or natural product, spending over 4 billion dollars annually for products with unproved therapeutic value and the potential to cause great harm. Because so many allopathic health care providers know so little about herbs and natural supplements, a book like Mosby’s Handbook of Herbs and Natural Supplements can be a valuable addition to the libraries of offices and clinics around the country. The author, Linda Skidmore-Roth, has a master’s degree in Nursing. Her list of consultants includes other nurses (including PhDs), herbalists, and a pharmacist. This book is intended to counter the lack of information that many health e1 1526-9523/04/$30.00
care professionals have about the use of herbs and natural supplements.
current source of information such as this book, practitioners may have little to offer in this area.
The book covers over 300 herbs and supplements and is likely to include those most commonly purchased by clients from local health food stores. The monographs are well organized in a consistent manner, allowing the reader to find the desired information easily. Each monograph includes sections such as common name, scientific name, other common names, origins, uses, available forms, dosages, contraindications and side effects, and client considerations. An invaluable asset to each monograph is a table listing interactions with foods, other herbal products, drugs, and lab tests. Also helpful is a summary of known pharmacology for each herbal substance, including pharmokinetics, chemical properties, and actions. References are included after each monograph for those interested in further study.
As a midwife, however, this reviewer found the book to be less than helpful. While pregnancy and lactation precautions are noted on virtually every monograph, the most common statement is this: “Until more research is available, _______ should not be used during pregnancy and lactation.” While ordinarily a wise caution, it certainly seems to ignore the years of “women’s wisdom” that many midwives and clients draw from today.
In addition, the introduction to the handbook includes helpful information about phytomedicine, touching on problems with research, manufacture, standardization, and potential for toxicity. Several appendixes in the back of the book offer a wide variety of herbal resources (including many Web sites), a listing of complementary and alternative medicine programs in the United States and Canada, a table of drug/herb interactions, and a fascinating section on pediatric herbal use. Overall, this book has much to offer anyone practicing women’s health care. Clients may be taking various supplements, oral and topical, for a variety of complaints from premenstrual syndrome to vaginitis to UTIs to menopausal symptoms. Helping them learn which products may help, which products are simply a waste of money, and which products may actually create harm is an important task for the health care provider. With monographs for such common supplements as vitex, dong quai, wild yam, cranberry, black cohosh, soy, and garlic, this book will provide practitioners with a rich source of information on women’s natural remedies. Especially important may be learning whether natural supplements are having negative interactions with a client’s pharmacological treatments. Without a
e2
For example, while ginger is described as being used to help quell morning sickness during early pregnancy, practitioners are warned not to use it because it is abortifacient in large amounts. Echinacea use is warned against despite research demonstrating safety in pregnancy. Alfalfa, long used to increase maternal vitamin K levels in late pregnancy, is banned because of the possibility of uterine stimulation. Evening primrose oil is not recommended. Kelp, nettle leaf, and yellow dock, often used to increase iron/mineral nutritional levels during pregnancy, are advised against in this book, as is use of flax seed to alleviate constipation. Comfrey is not recommended, even externally, for perineal healing. Even fenugreek, long used to help stimulate milk production in new mothers, is not recommended for use during lactation. While this extremely cautious advice may be legally sound, it dramatically reduces the non-pharmacological arsenal available to practitioners who are open to the use of natural remedies during pregnancy, as well as the many clients who are seeking information beyond what Western science has to offer. Midwives who are interested in the safe use of herbs and natural supplements during pregnancy and lactation will have to look farther than this book for helpful information. Despite the book’s lack of obvious usefulness to those working only with pregnant women, this reviewer believes it to be a valuable resource for women’s health care or primary care practitioners. Clients deserve to have a provider who is knowledgeable about natural remedies, and this book can help fill that information gap.
Volume 49, No. 2, March/April 2004
topics’ implication for practice and research. The appendices include audiovisual resources, publications for childbirth educators, literature, a variety of funding sources and World Wide Web resources, and the Ten Steps of the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative for Mother-Friendly Hospitals, Birth Centers, and Home Birth Services. One strength of the text is its broad focus. It includes topics such as sexuality in the perinatal period, alternative measures for pain relief such as acupuncture and an entire section on promoting wellness, which includes nutrition, exercise, and stress management. Chapters on childbirth education for teens and consumer-provider relationships round out the breadth of application. Childbirth education is a professional practice. For some clinicians it is part of what they do and for others it is their practice. Chapters on program evaluation, negotiation and conflict resolution, and professional practice provide business-oriented information needed to develop a business with a firm foundation. The final chapter focuses on evidence-based practice. This text is not a short read. It is written for college-level readers and it is unlikely to be read cover to cover. The most useful place for such a text is in an educational program or as a reference guide rather than a practical how-to manual. The amount of material covered and the depth of teaching learning theory applied, while important, may make using this book a daunting task in the office or busy clinic. As a resource for the education of childbearing families, Childbirth Education: Practice, Research and Theory by Nichols and Humenick belongs on the shelf of every midwifery practice. Mosby’s Handbook of Herbs and Natural Supplements, 2nd edition By Linda Skidmore-Roth. St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 2004. 1073 pages. $36.95, paperback. Reviewed by: Gretchen Brauer-Rieke, MSN, CNM, Owner: BirthWise Alternative Birthing Service, Walla Walla, WA. Almost half of all health care consumers are estimated to [be using] some form of herbal or natural product, spending over 4 billion dollars annually for products with unproved therapeutic value and the potential to cause great harm. Because so many allopathic health care providers know so little about herbs and natural supplements, a book like Mosby’s Handbook of Herbs and Natural Supplements can be a valuable addition to the libraries of offices and clinics around the country. The author, Linda Skidmore-Roth, has a master’s degree in Nursing. Her list of consultants includes other nurses (including PhDs), herbalists, and a pharmacist. This book is intended to counter the lack of information that many health e1 1526-9523/04/$30.00
care professionals have about the use of herbs and natural supplements.
current source of information such as this book, practitioners may have little to offer in this area.
The book covers over 300 herbs and supplements and is likely to include those most commonly purchased by clients from local health food stores. The monographs are well organized in a consistent manner, allowing the reader to find the desired information easily. Each monograph includes sections such as common name, scientific name, other common names, origins, uses, available forms, dosages, contraindications and side effects, and client considerations. An invaluable asset to each monograph is a table listing interactions with foods, other herbal products, drugs, and lab tests. Also helpful is a summary of known pharmacology for each herbal substance, including pharmokinetics, chemical properties, and actions. References are included after each monograph for those interested in further study.
As a midwife, however, this reviewer found the book to be less than helpful. While pregnancy and lactation precautions are noted on virtually every monograph, the most common statement is this: “Until more research is available, _______ should not be used during pregnancy and lactation.” While ordinarily a wise caution, it certainly seems to ignore the years of “women’s wisdom” that many midwives and clients draw from today.
In addition, the introduction to the handbook includes helpful information about phytomedicine, touching on problems with research, manufacture, standardization, and potential for toxicity. Several appendixes in the back of the book offer a wide variety of herbal resources (including many Web sites), a listing of complementary and alternative medicine programs in the United States and Canada, a table of drug/herb interactions, and a fascinating section on pediatric herbal use. Overall, this book has much to offer anyone practicing women’s health care. Clients may be taking various supplements, oral and topical, for a variety of complaints from premenstrual syndrome to vaginitis to UTIs to menopausal symptoms. Helping them learn which products may help, which products are simply a waste of money, and which products may actually create harm is an important task for the health care provider. With monographs for such common supplements as vitex, dong quai, wild yam, cranberry, black cohosh, soy, and garlic, this book will provide practitioners with a rich source of information on women’s natural remedies. Especially important may be learning whether natural supplements are having negative interactions with a client’s pharmacological treatments. Without a
e2
For example, while ginger is described as being used to help quell morning sickness during early pregnancy, practitioners are warned not to use it because it is abortifacient in large amounts. Echinacea use is warned against despite research demonstrating safety in pregnancy. Alfalfa, long used to increase maternal vitamin K levels in late pregnancy, is banned because of the possibility of uterine stimulation. Evening primrose oil is not recommended. Kelp, nettle leaf, and yellow dock, often used to increase iron/mineral nutritional levels during pregnancy, are advised against in this book, as is use of flax seed to alleviate constipation. Comfrey is not recommended, even externally, for perineal healing. Even fenugreek, long used to help stimulate milk production in new mothers, is not recommended for use during lactation. While this extremely cautious advice may be legally sound, it dramatically reduces the non-pharmacological arsenal available to practitioners who are open to the use of natural remedies during pregnancy, as well as the many clients who are seeking information beyond what Western science has to offer. Midwives who are interested in the safe use of herbs and natural supplements during pregnancy and lactation will have to look farther than this book for helpful information. Despite the book’s lack of obvious usefulness to those working only with pregnant women, this reviewer believes it to be a valuable resource for women’s health care or primary care practitioners. Clients deserve to have a provider who is knowledgeable about natural remedies, and this book can help fill that information gap.
Volume 49, No. 2, March/April 2004