Medical disorders in pregnancy may cause complications and have adverse affects on the mother, foetus 
and the newborn. The physiological changes that 
occur during pregnancy may aggravate a maternal 
disease process thus increasing maternal morbidity 
and mortality rates. It is essential that all who care 
for pregnant women have insight into medical 
disorders and the way that these are influenced by 
pregnancy. Adequate knowledge of these medical 
disorders helps and guides the obstetricians in 

managing complicated pregnancies. Several text 
books on medical disorders and pregnancy have 
been published. 

One of the foremost books in this field, Medical 
Disorders in Obstetric Practice, was first published 
by Professor Michael de Swiet more than 35 
years ago. It was one of the first international text 
books to focus exclusively on providing expert 
guidance to obstetricians, medical specialists and 
anesthesiologists for the care of medical illness 
during pregnancy. The goal of this book is to provide 
obstetricians with information in instances in which 
an optimal medical consultant may be lacking. This 
fifth edition has been entirely revised, co-written 
and co-edited by an expert team of practising 
clinicians from all over the world, including a 
high risk obstetrician, a medical subspecialist and 
an obstetric anesthesiologist when required. The 
team approach provides a broad interdisciplinary 
practical perspective to the care of medical illness 
in pregnancy that addresses the entire period from 
preconception to postpartum follow-up. 

The current edition’s 50 chapters cover a wide 
variety of diseases in pregnancy, divided by different 
body systems. For example, the first five chapters 
deal with pulmonary, haematological, coronary 
and thromboemobolic diseases in pregnancy as 
well as thrombophilia and pregnancy. An entirely 
new section has been added to the fifth edition. 
This provides brief, practical, and evidence-based 
advice from highly experienced clinicians about 
the proper investigation and safe management of 

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BOOK REVIEW

De Swiet’s Medical Disorders in 
Obstetric Practice

Editors: Raymond O. Powrie, Michael F. Greene and William Camann
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 5th edition, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-405-1484-74
Orders: www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

SQU Med J, February 2011, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 136-137, Epub. 12th Feb 11
Submitted - 28th Aug 10



Raymond O. Powrie, Michael F. Greene and William Camann

Book Review | 137137 | SQU Medical Journal, February 2011, Volume 11, Issue 1

the most common medical problems in pregnancy. 
Topics covered include syncope, palpitations, 
headaches and abnormal liver function tests. 
Additional chapters have also been added on a 
wide range of topics including cancer, critical care, 
obesity, advanced maternal age and prescribing 
in pregnancy and lactation. This edition makes 
much greater use of tables, algorithms, text boxes 
and figures to summarise and illustrate key points 
for busy clinicians. A special section of each 
major chapter now addresses issues related to the 
provision of anaesthesia care to obstetric patients.

Almost all chapters include details that cover 
the needs of an obstetrician. However, the chapter 
on prescribing in pregnancy has limited details on 

medications and risks to pregnancy compared to 
their risks with lactation, a subject that is addressed 
well in the appendix section.

Overall, this book is a useful resource for general 
and high risk obstetricians. It covers many aspects 
of medical diseases and problems in pregnancy. I 
would definitely use this book as a reference and I 
do recommend it to others.

r e v i e w e r

Nihal Al-Riyami
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman 

Email: drriyami@hotmail.com