"Practical Procedures for the Newborn Nursery". Ed. Ashok K. Deorari, Vinod K. Paul, Jeanne Scotland, Douglas D. McMillan and Nalini Singhal; Publisher: Sagar Publications, New Delhi 2nd Edition 2003, Pages 126, Price Rs. 175/-.

Neonatology as a speciality has grown by leaps and bounds in the last two decades, and so is its application at all levels of care. Care of the newborns involves numerous simple as well as difficult procedures. Whereas, simple procedures or daily routines are often not given due care, the complicated procedures at times get spoiled because of lack of proper knowledge or inexperience. Both of these situations may be hazardous from viewpoint of well being of the baby. This book has tackled both such circumstances beautifully and -has given a vivid description of all types of procedures, which are performed in neonatal nurseries.

This manual is of immense use to both doctors as well as nurses. The details about each procedure are provided in a classified manner viz., purpose, points of emphasis, policy, equipment and steps of the procedure in a sequential point wise manner. Useful tips, rationale for use, mis-use, disinfection techniques, maintenance and common problems, as applicable have been discussed about various neonatal equipments. A plentiful of pictures and diagrams have been incorporated to illustrate the text material and are of great help in learning the subject.

Section on General nursing covers practically all aspects of tender care required in a neonatal unit. The posters on Kangaroo mother care, skin care, hand washing, expression of breast milk, endotracheal intubation, and chest physiotherapy are excellent and self explanatory. Steps involved in technique of blood sampling and putting various venous and arterial lines in neonates have been precisely laid down. Nursing skills/procedures that are often not given proper attention have been high-lighted point wise. A separate section has been devoted to the equipments used for care and monitoring of the neonates. The contents and the method of presentation in this chapter overwhelmingly impress the reader. The chapter on feeding describes various methods of feeding the neonates with clear elaboration of each step involved in feeding techniques. Skills related to Respiratory support have been aptly described and would only prompt one, not to forget a step written in the text. The routines, which should be followed to maintain asepsis have been described with clear instructions on every issue involved. Annexure provides various charts that have been designed to note down every necessary details required to have a complete documentation of the case.

This book contains a classified stepwise description of practical procedures, which are undertaken in neonatal practice and fulfills a long felt need of a good companion on the subject. The effort of the authors is laudable, and the book in itself is an excellent piece of work. It is recommended to all medical and paramedical personnel involved in neonatal care.

G.K. Malik,
Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology),
Department of Pediatrics,
King George's Medical University,
Lucknow, India.
E-mail: [email protected]