Returning to our roots: 25 years of maternal/child nursing in the community

In many ways the past 25 years in maternal/child nursing have brought us back to community roots. Components of community care in maternal/child nursing include self-care; prevention; family, culture, and community; and collaboration. These components are reviewed through a retrospective look at community maternal/child nursing activities during the past 25 years. In addition, maternal/child nursing for the future is examined by thinking expansively in five areas: childbirth education, community-based interventions for better health behavior, community-based interventions to meet 2010 objectives, family forms, and definitions of women's health in the United States and beyond. We are birthing a new vision of maternal/child health and wellness. Central to that birthing is an awakening of the still, small, wise intuitive voice in all of us.