Book excerpt: In consultation with Consulting Editor, Dr. Lucky Jain, Drs. Jonathan M. Davis and Errol R. Norwitz have put together a state-of the-art issue of the Clinics in Perinatology devoted to Perinatal Pharmacology. Clinical review articles are specifically devoted to the following: Drugs for the prevention and treatment of preterm labor; Drugs for the prevention and treatment of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; Drugs to promote neuroprotection; Medications that cause fetal anomalies and possible prevention strategies; Safety and efficacy of psychotropic medications during pregnancy; Treatment of viral infections during pregnancy (HIV, herpes, CMV, hepatitis C); Drugs to control diabetes during pregnancy; Cardiotonic drugs; Drugs to treat coagulation disorders in the newborn; Drugs for the prevention and treatment of bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Drugs for the prevention and treatment of neonatal brain injury; Drugs for the prevention and treatment of sepsis in the newborn; Analgesia, opioids and other drug use during pregnancy and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome; Medications and breast feeding; Principles of pharmacokinetics in the pregnant woman and fetus; and Challenges in designing clinical trials to test new drugs in the pregnant woman and fetus. Readers will come away with the latest information on therapeutics as they seek to utilize evidence-based recommendations to improve patient outcomes.