Jane Palmer is a highly respected, privately practising midwife in Sydney. She manages her company Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond and provides midwifery, childbirth education and lactation services. For over 20 years, she has supported women and their families from preconception to the year following birth. As one of the first Medicare-eligible midwives in Australia, she provides midwifery care in collaboration with the group practice Midwives @ Sydney and Beyond, caring for women planning to give birth at home, hospital or in a birth centre. Being passionate about breastfeeding, she became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2008. She actively campaigns for the improvement in maternity care and maintains the popular website www.pregnancy.com.au. Jane is the mother of three children — Joshua, Jarred and Lia — and is grandmother to Dakota. She enjoys family life, writing and travelling.

Joanne Stone, MD, is a full-time faculty member in the internationally renowned Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at The Mount Sinai Medical Centre in New York City. She is the director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and also cares for patients with problem pregnancies. She has lectured throughout the country, is widely published in medical journals, and has been interviewed frequently for television and magazines on topics related to pregnancy, with a special emphasis on the management of multiple pregnancies. Away from the hospital she loves to spend time with her husband, George, and her two little girls, Chloe and Sabrina.

Keith Eddleman, MD, works with Joanne at Mount Sinai. He is a professor in the medical school and the Director of Obstetrics at the hospital. He teaches medical students, residents and fellows, lectures throughout the world, and appears often on television to discuss issues concerning the care of pregnant women. His areas of special expertise are ultrasound and reproductive genetics. His free time, when he has any, is split between spending time with his family at their apartment in Manhattan or at their country house in upstate New York.

Mary Duenwald is a writer and editor who has for many years specialised in medicine and science journalism. She has written for The New York Times, Discover, Smithsonian, and Departures. She has been executive editor of Harper’s Bazaar, Women’s Sports & Fitness, and The Sciences magazines and a senior editor for Vogue. She is a contributing editor for GQ. She is also the mother of twins, Nick and Claire Murray.