Practical Neonatology – Volume 1 & 2  (Hardcover, Rama Bhat Praveen Kumar Ishwar Verma Dharmapuri Vidyasagar)

It gives us a great pleasure to bring out the second edition of our book “Handbook of Neonatology” with a new title “Practical Neonatology”. The first edition was published 3 years ago, and it received favorable comments from practicing physicians and neonatal fellows in training. This gave us an impetus for the for the new and improved 2 nd edition. In India, the government has initiated many programs directed towards the welfare of the mother, newborn and child which has resulted in dramatic improvement in the availability of neonatal care facilities at district and sub district level. The main goal is to bring down Still Birth Rate (SBR) and Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) to single digits by 2030. This is a commendable goal but requires continuous efforts to educate and train health care workers. The facilities also need better technology and laboratory support. Neonatal care is constantly improving/changing not just in the west but across the globe because of the technological advances, deeper understanding of physiology and molecular biology. Our goal is to provide clear, current and concise information to the vast number of practicing neonatologists, physicians in training, medical students and nursing staff not only in India but also in other developing countries. All the authors in the first and current edition are senior and experienced neonatologists, cardiologists, obstetricians/perinatologists, pediatric surgeonswith vast clinical and research experience. The first edition contained all 119 chapters in one volume and included both the care of normal newborn and sick newborn. The book was bulky for a quick bedside reference hence we sought the expertise of senior editor Prof.I C Verma and publishers to improve upon the format of the book and chapter presentation. After considerable discussion we agreed to bring out the book in two volumes and change the title to Practical Neonatology -Volume-1 and Volume -2. Volume 1 contains chapters pertaining to Prenatal assessment, Prenatal diagnosis, Genetic counselling, Delivery room care including Resuscitation, Assessment of Newborn, Nutrition, Hyperbilirubinemia,Metabolic Disorders,Neonatal Infections, Neonatal Dermatology and Neonatal procedures. Volume 2 deals with clinical management of sick newborn with respiratory disorders, cardiac anomalies, Surgical Conditions, Renal and Hematological disorders, Neurological and neuroimaging issues, Pain management, Ethical issues and Discharging highrisk infants from NICU.The second volume also includes chapters like Quality improvement in the NICU, Managing medical equipment, Dose and administration of drugs in neonate, Normal laboratory values in neonates, all important in the developing countries. In this second edition readers will also appreciate the improved format with colorful titles, subtitles, and clear figures and tables for easy reference. Editors are pleased to bring this edition to you and hope this will help allthe readersin everyday careof normal and sick newborns.We welcome any feedback positive or negative from the readers so that we can improve the content in the next edition. We want to express our special gratitudeto our senior editor Prof.I C Verma and the editorial staff at IJP for their timely help during the difficult pandemic times.