This title includes Foreword by Sheila Kitzinger, Writer, Researcher, Activist and Honorary Professor, Wolfson School of Health Sciences, Thames Valley University. Birth centres are suitable for every woman whose birth is straightforward, which accounts for around 75 per cent of all women. This inspirational guide shows how small scale maternity provision has a profound clinical and organisational advantage over large scale hospital provision, including saving of time and money by reducing...

Evolution - both the fact that it occurred and the theory describing the mechanisms by which it occurred - is an intrinsic and central component in modern biology. Theodosius Dobzhansky captures this well in the much-quoted title of his 1973 paper 'Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution'. The correctness of this assertion is even more obvious today: philosophers of biology and biologists agree that the fact of evolution is undeniable and that the theory of evolutio...

Since its origin in the early 20th century, the Modern Synthesis theory of evolution has grown to become the orthodox view on the process of organic evolution. Its central defining feature is the prominence it accords to genes in the explanation of evolutionary dynamics. Since the advent of the 21st century, however, the Modern Synthesis has been subject to repeated and sustained challenges. These are largely empirically driven. In the last two decades, evolutionary biology has witnessed u...

The science of change from cells to cultureCells to Civilizations is the first unified account of how life transforms itself—from the production of bacteria to the emergence of complex civilizations. What are the connections between evolving microbes, an egg that develops into an infant, and a child who learns to walk and talk? Award-winning scientist Enrico Coen synthesizes the growth of living systems and creative processes, and he reveals that the four ...

Providing readers with the confidence needed to debate key issues in bioethics, this introductory text clearly explains bioethical theories and their philosophical foundations. Over 250 activities introduce topics for personal reflection, and discussion points encourage students to think for themselves and build their own arguments. Highlighting the potential pitfalls for those new to bioethics, each chapter features boxes providing factual information and outlining the philosophical backg...

An essential introduction to the philosophy of biologyThis is a concise, comprehensive, and accessible introduction to the philosophy of biology written by a leading authority on the subject. Geared to philosophers, biologists, and students of both, the book provides sophisticated and innovative coverage of the central topics and many of the latest developments in the field. Emphasizing connections between biological theories and other areas of philosophy, and care...

With contributions from a range of leading international authors, this 'stop and make you think' book explores the many contemporary issues surrounding emotion work in reproductive healthcare. The editors, forerunners in their field, have brought together both theoretical and clinical aspects to challenge readers to consider the significance of this important topic in their day-to-day work.Using examples of maternity care and infertility settings from the UK and beyond, and with an...

What is the reality of being a midwife in the twenty-first century? What is it like to help and support women throughout pregnancy and childbirth and into motherhood? What roles can midwives play in society?This new edition of the popular text, Becoming a Midwife, explores what it is to be a midwife, looking at the factors that make midwifery such a special profession, as well as some of the challenges. The fully updated chapters cover a variety of settings and several dif...

Brain repair, smart pills, mind-reading machines--modern neuroscience promises to soon deliver a remarkable array of wonders as well as profound insight into the nature of the brain. But these exciting new breakthroughs, warns Steven Rose, will also raise troubling questions about what it means to be human. In The Future of the Brain, Rose explores just how far neuroscience may help us understand the human brain--including consciousness--and to what extent cutting edge technologie...

All cultures are concerned with the business of childbirth, so much so that it can never be described as a purely physiological or even psychological event. This volume draws together work from a range of anthropologists and midwives who have found anthropological approaches useful in their work. Using case studies from a variety of cultural settings, the writers explore the centrality of the way time is conceptualized, marked and measured to the ways of perceiving and managing childbirth:...

The eBook version of this title gives you access to the complete book content electronically*. Evolve eBooks allows you to quickly search the entire book, make notes, add highlights, and study more efficiently. Buying other Evolve eBooks titles makes your learning experience even better: all of the eBooks will work together on your electronic "bookshelf", so that you can search across your entire library of Midwifery eBooks. *Please note that this version is the eBook only and does not inc...

In 1859 Darwin described a deceptively simple mechanism that he called "natural selection," a combination of variation, inheritance, and reproductive success. He argued that this mechanism was the key to explaining the most puzzling features of the natural world, and science and philosophy were changed forever as a result. The exact nature of the Darwinian process has been controversial ever since, however. Godfrey-Smith draws on new developments in biology, philosophy of science, and othe...