A reference guide to the common pharmaceutical preparations used in maternity units. Intended to complement the British National Formulary and other main textbooks, it allows both the student and practising midwife to see at a glance the actions, side effects and interactions of the most common drugs in their specific field. Each chapter describes a different drug group, with a brief list of the most common preparations and their properties, along with references for further reading and research. Legal requirements, dosage calculations and medical abbreviations are also included to give an overall introduction to the use of drugs, both common and unusual, that a midwife will encounter in practice.