The New Zealand Pregnancy Book

The New Zealand Pregnancy Book

A guide to pregnancy, birth and a baby’s first three months 3rd edition

Authors: Sue Pullon (GP) and Cheryl Benn (midwife) Photographer: Daniel Allen

Publication: November 2008 RRP: $54.99, flexibound The New Zealand Pregnancy Book has been used by thousands of parents since it was first published in 1991. Its ongoing popularity reflects the demand for a comprehensive book written expressly for New Zealanders. This new edition offers modern parents and their families a wonderful insight into what pregnancy and childbirth in New Zealand looks like in the twenty-first century.

Each step of pregnancy, birth and the baby’s first months is set out with detailed information and clear diagrams. A remarkable set of full colour photographs brings this journey to life, expressing feelings and emotions that are so much part of having a baby. Contemporary personal stories complement the text, offering readers insights into the joys and delights of this profound experience, and also the risks and difficulties. Women and men who have recently become parents share here some of life’s most intensely private and deeply felt times – making this a very special book for New Zealand and New Zealanders.

Pregnancy, birth and early parenting are part of a continuous life process. This book describes not only the amazing physical and emotional changes that take place in a woman’s body during pregnancy and birth, but also has advice on pre-pregnancy health, common problems and potential difficulties, pregnancy care and birth choices, and caring for a new baby. There are practical sections on everything from exercise and nutrition to baby equipment and nappy changing, not only for women but also for partners and support people.

The authors, GP Sue Pullon and midwife Cheryl Benn, draw on many years’ professional and academic experience in general practice and midwifery respectively. Together, they bring a rare depth and range of evidence-based knowledge to the project. They have worked with a wider group of experts, along with the publishing and design team, to create a contemporary, accessible edition for today’s new parents.

1 The Team

Sue Pullon has worked has worked as a GP since the early 1980s, continuing parttime while her own three children were small. She has postgraduate qualifications in obstetrics, general practice and primary health care. Since 1994, she has been a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice at the University of Otago, Wellington.

Cheryl Benn trained as a nurse and midwife in South Africa, and moved to New Zealand in the early 1990s after the birth of her two children. She has lectured in midwifery at Massey University, and currently practises as a lead maternity carer while continuing her teaching and research. Cheryl has been an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 1992, and is Midwifery Advisor to the MidCentral District Health Board.

Daniel Allen is an independent professional photographer with work for Craig Potton Publishing, New Holland and NZ House & Garden in his portfolio. Based in Nelson with his young family, he brought together people from the community to participate in the photography. Margot Schwass (who worked with women and couples on the personal stories for this edition as well as editing the text) is the author of BWB’s multicultural Last Words and several other contemporary non-fiction titles; she works regularly with organisations including the Bioethics Council, the Health and Disability Commissioner, and the Institute of Judicial Studies.

Bridget Williams has a long history of reference publishing, from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and the Book of New Zealand Women to the Dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language. She published the first edition of the New Zealand Pregnancy Book as managing director of Allen & Unwin New Zealand in 1991, and has produced subsequent editions under the BWB imprint. Expert reviewers and contributors

Sharron Cole (Midwifery Council, Families Commission, Parents Centre) and Martin Sowter (obstetrician and gynaecologist at National Women’s Health) reviewed the text at a final stage.

Yvonne Ferguson, physiotherapist advisor to the project, has postgraduate qualifications in women’s health physiotherapy, and has provided expert physiotherapy care for pregnant women in the Nelson area for many years. Midwife

Hope Tupara (Ngāi Tamanuhiri, Ngāi Te Rangihouhiri, Kāi Tahu), who has served on the Midwifery Council and as a national committee member for the NZ College of Midwives, and

Donna Cormack (Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe, Kāi Tahu), a medical researcher at the Eru Pomare Research Unit, Wellington College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, both reviewed the text and wrote contributions.

Janice Wenn (Ngāti Kahungungu ki Wairarapa) and Lani Wills from Tonga, both with extensive nursing backgrounds, provided Māori and Pacific perspectives respectively.

ENDS

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