It's a mild cartridge with ballistics that are more potent than the .38 Special but not as stout as .45 ACP. Up until recently, your only choices in defense ammo in this venerable caliber were 200gr Winchester Silvertips or Federal's 200gr Lead Semi-Wadcutter HollowPoint; now, however, there are also loads from Speer and Cor-Bon that look interesting.
If it's a little five-shot .44 Special snubbie, you may want to try renting one first for her to shoot; some folks find them to be quite a handful...
PS: I'm going to slide this thread over into the "Handguns: The Revolver Forum" right next door...