Now part of the popular LPN Threads series, this market-leading text provides essential content for a solid foundation in maternity nursing. Its easy-to-follow body system approach progresses along a continuum from conception to adulthood, emphasizing prevention, early recognition, antepartum care, and the family. With its easy-to-read, clear writing style, it provides exactly the right depth and breadth of content for LPN/LVNs. Organization by simple-to-complex and health-to-illness continuum makes it easy to locate and access information, allowing you to see how complex content builds upon simpler concepts. Health-to-illness reflects the wellness basis for maternal and newborn care. Health Promotion and Family-Centered Care are the major themes throughout to reflect Healthy People 2010 objectives and the overall focus on wellness and illness prevention in health care. Pictorial of labor and birth includes 14 vivid photos that allow you to visualize the birth experience from start to finish. UNIQUE! Content on bioterrorism and the pregnant patient provides background information on nursing care in disaster situations. UNIQUE! CPR for the pregnant patient and infectious diseases acquired during pregnancy (Chapter 14). Skills following the nursing process are clearly presented in an Action/Rationale format and teach basic procedures used and performed by the LPN/LVN in maternity nursing settings. Fast Focus boxes present thought-provoking content on specific issues and topics. Nursing Tips include information on assessment, medications, growth and development, psychosocial issues, patient teaching, and health promotion. UNIQUE! Clinical Pathways appear where appropriate to reflect collaborative care. Complementary and Alternative Therapies (UNIQUE!), Women's Health, and Adolescent Childbearing and Parenting are located in separate chapters to help you better focus on each topic independently. UNIQUE! Traditional Healthy Latin American Diet Pyramid illustration with food availability, preferences, and cultural patterns from different countries provides a more culturally sensitive look at nutrition. Critical Thinking Activities at the end of each chapter encourage you to integrate information. Built-in Perforated Self-Assessment Workbook included at the back of the book features clinical situations, Internet activities, and multiple-choice questions. Nursing Care Plans reinforce the nursing process as applied to maternity nursing. Companion CD includes video clips of both normal and caesarian births, audio glossary and audio clips, 3-D animations, and maternity/pediatric patient teaching plans in English and Spanish. Sections on changes in clinical care recommendations, including vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), and pain relief in newborns provide the most current information available in delivery and newborn care. Additional Skills reflect greater hands-on clinical application of maternity nursing care. UNIQUE! MyPyramid illustrates the 2005 revised guidelines from the U. S. Department of Agriculture and provides healthy daily food choices for a nutrient-dense diet combined with adequate physical activity.