This new comprehensive text recognizes the role of the midwife or clinician practicing using a midwifery model of care as a primary provider for healthy pregnant women. The woman is the central figure in the assessment of her own health needs and the determination of the care processes that will best meet those needs. Stresses throughout, the role of the midwife is to advocate for the woman while creating a climate of care the recognizes and values the healthy aspects of pregnancy. When deviation from the normal occur, the reader is led through a process that emphasizes consultation, collaboration, and referral to the professionals who are most appropriately prepared to meet the women's needs. Current research is incorporated throughout to preapre the reader for maintaining standards of care by evidence-based practice.