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of by just looking a t the pictures; the accompanying text must be read.

Previous editions, in particular the third, had a section on unsafe lifting practices with the rationale behind them. This edition, while it has many warning boxes scattered throughout the chapters, particu- larly in part 2, does not give the rationale. This is a great oversight which is to be rectified in the second printing (Frontline, November 19, 1997) as a separate chapter. It will

go on sale as a supplement for those who have already purchased the book.

For any practising physiothera- pist who wants to be up to date on manual handling i t is an essential book, very readable and easily understood. It is a must for those who teach the health care profes- sions and their students, and anyone who has to care for or treat patients and clients in hospital and the community. I would expect a copy on every manager’s bookshelf

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(and would hope it had been read), multiple copies in every hospital and healthcare faculty library, a copy in every ward, department, residential and nursing home, special school, day centre -

anywhere where patients or clients need to be moved by others. I would also expect care staff to have access to it. With such a wealth of infor- mation it is not overpriced.

Joan Gabbetl: Grad DipPhys MCSP ONC

CertQccHealth CertEd

Your New Baby How to survive the first months of parenthood

by Christine and Peter Hill. Ebury Press, London, 1996 (ISBN 0 09 181307 7). Illus. 246 pages. €8.99.

This is an interesting and valu- able text, full of sound advice from authors who obviously have exten- sive experience in dealing with new parents and babies. It is a book intended for first-time working mothers although as stated in the introduction there is a lot of infor- mation of interest to both partners, Its informal style makes easy reading.

The book is divided into seven parts. The first section, relating to pregnancy, covers a wide spectrum of subjects from when to stop work, looking beyond labour to your life as a parent, to practical advice about

Breast feeding: The ‘football’ hold

ante-natal exercise and where your baby will sleep.

Sections 2 and 3 relate to time in hospital and coming home. These two chapters are packed with useful advice and tackle many of the myths that surround parenting for the uninformed.

In sections 4 to 6, the authors focus on the first few months of parenthood as one gradually returns to ‘full speed in the fast lane’. Again, practical advice relating to child care is in abun- dance but there i s also advice relating to looking after oneself, maintaining relationships and getting to grips with a return t o work. The final section contains useful appendices.

The extent of the practical infor- mation in this book is surprising and this makes it a valuable refer- ence in the post-natal period. It is, however, not always easy to extract the relevant points. I first read the book when my first child was a few weeks old, and with rarely more than a few minutes to spare a t any one time, found it difficult to access the information from the text.

The authors recognise that life with a new baby is not always easy but are a t times rather unforgiving and narrow in their approach. Retrospectively, their advice makes sense, but as a new parent it is hard to believe that all babies and parents react in the same way and one needs permission to have a non-conforming child or be a non-conforming parent!

To conclude, this text is likely to be appreciated by working women expecting their first child, although

the informal t>one may not appeal to everyone. It is not a rlinical book but newly qualified physiotherapists embarking on an obstetrics rotation would find it helpful in terms of understanding their patients’ needs. The title suggests it is a book for the post-partum mother but, I feel its first reading should be during preg-

“ancy, not only for the benefit of the ante-natal sections, but to take advantage of its overall message. It is exactly what it purports to be - a survival guide.

Caroline Smith MSc MCSP

Cancer Resources an the Inter net edited by M Sandra Wood MLS M5A and Eric P Delozier MLS. Hawarth Press, 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, New York

0345 7). 110 pages. $18.

Information resources on the Net about cancer are diverse and plen- tiful. The aim of this review is t o analyse the information provided for health care professionals and patients, its value as a substitute support service, and as a mecha- nism for patients to share their experiences between themselves.

This assessment can then be extrapolated to gauge the value of the Internet in wider aspects of health care.

The main limitations of this publi- cation for UK readers are that the reviews of each site may soon go out of date, and the local information is only relevant to the TJSA, and fairly regional at that.

However, i t does provide an approach to the bewildering amount of material on line and its rationale could be copied by Net users in the UK.

13904-1580, USA, 1997 (ISBN 0 7890

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Physiotherapy, January 1998, vol84, no 1