Obstetrics and Its Advancements

Obstetrics, as with all domains of medicine, is always advancing. New science leads to new practice while changes in the environment produce new and emerging challenges, such as the coronavirus. The purpose of this new edition is to align this text and its state-of-the-art information with important changes that have occurred in the four years since the last edition was published.

Preconception and Prenatal Care

The first section of this book focuses on preconception and prenatal care. There are several crucial updates to these chapters. The most critical update to this section falls in the Vaccines in Pregnancy chapter and details the risks and benefits of the COVID vaccine in pregnant women and women looking to get pregnant. There are also counseling updates on preconception nutrition, preconception risk assessment, pre-existing disease management and advances in prenatal screening and prenatal US recommendations and infectious disease detection. Multiple updates on medications in pregnancy are also included as new classes of medications are frequent in this demographic such as diabetes and weight loss medications.

Complications in Pregnancy

The second section details various complications that arise in pregnancy. There are updates to the majority of the chapters in this section, some of which include new screening protocols for dysmorphic growth and genetics, treatments that have since been removed from preterm labor recommendations and again, the most major update would be to the infection in pregnancy chapter, particularly in terms of COVID.

Labor and Delivery

The smallest section of the book is the third one on labor and delivery. There are only three chapters in this section so there are minimal updates, but all current best practices are reflected.

Complications of Labor, Delivery, and Postpartum Management

The fourth and fifth sections of this book focus on complications of labor and delivery and postpartum management. There are both major and minor changes to these sections. A current understanding of what constitutes “prolonged” labor and best practice pathways are introduced as well as updates to the newborn evaluation including screening for genetic, cardiac and hearing issues as well as current guidelines for the management of hyperbilirubinemia.

Written by experts in the field, this fully revised and expanded fourth edition of Obstetrics in Family Medicine is a valuable resource for a wide range of primary care providers who provide direct or indirect care of patients of childbearing age. This book also appeals to nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nursing personnel working in the primary care setting. Additionally, this book serves as a useful guide for medical providers who intersect with pregnant, or possibly pregnant patients including emergency medicine physicians, surgeons, EMTs and paramedics.