Contemporary Obstetrics and Gynecology for Developing Countries

Book excerpt: This book is a comprehensive and easy-to-read guide to obstetrics and gynecology in developing countries. Although significant progress has been made towards the reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity globally, they are still unacceptably high in developing countries. This can be directly or indirectly tied to poor quality maternal health care and lack of access to cost-effective, comprehensive healthcare. Health practitioners in developing countries also contend with trying to keep abreast of recent developments in obstetrics and gynecology while dealing with lack of time, resources, and access to relevant information. This textbook was thus created by experts in obstetrics and gynecology with extensive experience in African clinical settings and consultants in developed countries to teach proper and accurate diagnosis, treatment and management of gynecologic and obstetric health issues within the context of developing countries. This second edition has been fully updated throughout with an added 25+ chapters that cover topics such as reproductive health, gynecological cancers and research methods. The book is divided into six sections: Women’s Reproductive Health; Obstetrics; Medical and Surgical Disorders in Pregnancy; General Gynecology; Gynecological Malignancies; Health Systems Organization, Research Methodology and Biostatistics. These section topics have been carefully covered by expert authors with the use of valid scientific data, policy instruments, and adapted to the cultural and social context of developing countries, with particular in depth coverage of conditions that have greater prevalence and incidence in developing countries. Each chapter also focuses on filling gaps in knowledge with a distinct pedagogical approach, starting with a set of learning objectives and ending with key takeaways for the chapter. This is an ideal guide for residents, medical students, practitioners of obstetrics and gynecology, midwives, general practitioners, and pediatricians, particularly those working in developing companies.