I’m not a big fan of babies or children but as i work in NHS this book appealed to see other points of view from a different apartment

Full of humour and heart felt moments

A great read

Thank you Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

I found this book engaging and interesting - it is written with wit and warmth and features various vignettes, some amusing, some heart breaking, that the author has been a part of during her work as a midwife in the NHS. That said, I'm not really sure how I feel about it as I found myself unexpectedly triggered. While Midwife Hazard comes across as caring, dedicated and genuinely sympathetic, that was not my experience of birth and midwives and reading this brought up some unpleasant memories. But I did really enjoy the birth stories and I can fully appreciate what a tremendous responsibility it must be to be a midwife.

The Covid pandemic has certainly shone a spotlight on the NHS and those that give so much to keep the people of this country safe and well. Underpaid, under-appreciated, overworked, nurses, doctors, midwives and countless others struggle on – criticised in the press and on social media, even accused of lying, given nothing more for their dedication than a round of applause, and yet we still expect them to be there for us when we need them.
Leah Hazard’s account of her time as a midwife plainly shows the pressure the system is under after years of cuts, underfunding and stealthy privatisation. Exhausted, run off their feet, wolfing down microwave meals, these women (and men) are expected to make life and death decisions right there at the business end of things, often without support.
But it’s not all gloom and doom. Hazard uses real life stories to add warmth, humour, love and the joy experienced at the birth of a new life to her story, a happy mum an antidote to the exhaustion. She has a genuine love of her work and of the women she guides through giving birth.
This is an extraordinary book – and Hazard is an extraordinary midwife. With the NHS more stretched now than ever, it’s so important to appreciate how lucky we are in this country. To see the NHS accused of lying about Covid on social media is infuriating. My sister has been a nurse in the NHS for more than thirty years, working as a specialist neo-natal nurse for most of that time. My daughter was a patient in that very unit. Those of us on the ‘outside’ really have such a limited understanding of the pressure, the dedication, of the staff. Books like these bring it to the fore.
A must read.

I have always wanted to be a midwife and I devoured this book in a couple of days. The Health care professionals work so hard and it was lovely to see an insight into the job. They work so hard. There were lots of tears and laughter reading this book.

Medical memoirs are my favourites, and this is no exception. I loved reading Leah's stories of people she's worked with. Wonderful. Particularly wonderful as a reminder of the wonders of our NHS and its workers.

I finished this in 24 hours flat. It's a quick and easy read but it still manages to have powerful and profound message about midwifery and maternity. What shines out of the book is a deep, abiding love and respect for the women encountered. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

Utterly remarkable, this non-fiction title narrates the experience of an NHS midwife. Since reading 'This is Going to Hurt' I've been really interested in learning more about the life and experiences of health care professionals. This title did not disappoint me – it was real and raw and it made me think about midwifes in a very different way. The title was interesting and heartbreaking at times, it is a real page-turner that I cannot stop recommending it.

A great insight into the world of midwifery that at different points had me crying and laughing. Told with wit and wisdom the writer never asks for sympathy - she simply tells it as it is. A wonderful read.

Leah Hazard has a lovely, lyrical writing style, which makes this a very easy read, even though the subject matter can be hard going. A warts and all description of the life of a midwife in the NHS, Hazard catalogues the highs and the lows, the loveliness and the gunginess that midwifery involves. And also the heartache and the awful difficulties of coping with the unique stresses while under huge strain because of the staffing shortages which are the day-to-day reality of working in the NHS today.

This book is extremely well written and so honest. It is so emotional too! Lots of sad tears but there is a lot of happy tears too. I just felt for this midwife but she is a strong girl and so good at her job.

Heartbreaking but at the same time uplifting. The remarkable life of a midwife following the ups and downs of this vital role.
I thoroughly enjoyed this insight into the role of the midwife sharing the highs and lows along with Leah.

Leah Hazard is clearly a midwife who loves her job and remains committed to it despite all the dreadful pressure she and her colleagues constantly seem to face. This autobiography holds nothing back and vividly depicts the contrast between joy and despair Leah experiences every working day. Judging by this book midwifery is both under resourced and undervalued. Certainly not a career for the fainthearted.! The NHS needs to step up to the plate. But, that being said, this isn't a grim read. Rather it gives us anecdotes that frankly reveal both the reality of delivering babies and the importance of forming relationships with new mums. Love and humour are essential to this process. Best summed up perhaps by Leah's often used line on first meeting a patient in labour "Midwife Hazard at your cervix". ANd service is just what she consistently provides.

This is a book by a midwife about being a midwife in an NHS hospital and it was such an interesting and insightful read. You get such a real sense of how it is to work in hospitals, how much is expected and how short-staffed they are. What I loved about this book is the way Leah Hazard really made me feel like I was seeing her work life through her eyes. Midwives are often present for a part of someone’s story but never get to see how it turned out, and so some of the stories in this book don’t have a patient’s full story. I thought this might be frustrating but it wasn’t, I was just so in the moment with the midwife. This is a really good read and I recommend it.

This was such a difficult book to read but important nonetheless! The challenges faced by our NHS staff (which my husband and I are among) need to be heard and understood, not just by politicians but the general public who don’t realise just how tough it can be working in the service nor that we are human too with our own feelings and challenges. This book was so well written, I truly felt for the author and have so much respect for midwives and all other nhs staff! I’m not surprised she couldn’t keep going under the circumstances. The stories she tells are funny, heartwarming, shocking and devastating! Well worth a read!

Really not surprised this became a Sunday Times besteller. Really eye opening account of life as a modern midwife. Gave me a much stronger appreciation of everyone working in this field.

An interesting book that is interesting and fascinating at the same time. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy easing about different aspects of life.

Tuesday again?! The one good thing about travelling is that I can use it as an excuse to read my way through just about as many books as possible. Here are a few which I managed to read en route to the chalet last week:

Hard PUshed

I'm not really sure what tempted me to agree to read this one, if I'm honest. As a non-parent, I can't say I've ever been super interested in midwifery or birth stories. Which is mostly what this is. Each chapter is broken down into an anecdotal account of Leah's interaction with a patient and their experience, with her continuing thoughts on all of the complicated feelings associated with her job as a mother and a midwife.

Although there is of course some medical terminology, she does explain a lot of this with the addition of a helpful glossary and it's not off-putting. Naturally the sections about baby loss were pretty difficult reading for me, but if I'm looking for a silver lining, I'd say that it's almost refreshing to see a topic like that covered in a book whose main focus is the miracle of life and childbirth.

Obviously, there were several references to the current crisis staffing levels of the NHS and it's failings, but the book didn't go into too much political territory, which I do think kept it more enjoyable than serious.

I’ve always had a fascination with the work of a midwife and read many fictitious books about the profession.

However, I have never read such an honest, articulate and factual account of daily life working on a maternity ward. Leah explains the arduous shifts and the utter desperation suffered by NHS colleagues due to staff shortages. She describes the physical and mental strains of working in an environment stretched to its limits.

Despite all of this, a resounding note of pride comes across in the memoir. It is written in very plain language and laced with humour and heartwarming personal stories.
I loved her completely unjudgemental approach to her patients and how each and every one gets her absolute undivided attention. It doesn’t matter how tired and stressed she feels inside, Leah treats every woman professionally. The tremendously strong bond between the staff is described beautifully. Together they work twelve-hour shifts, with one aim, which is to deliver babies safely.

This is a vivid, no holds barred memoir told by a caring, compassionate midwife. Leah Hazard has the courage to tell her story, warts and all.
There is a glossary at the back of the book which helped with any medical terminology that I was unfamiliar with. I raced through this book, soaking up the short chapters and going through a whole kaleidoscope of emotions.

Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed Hard Pushed. A great insight into the world of midwifery. A fab book and an easy to read book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There is a lot of this genre about at the moment with a lot of people writing memoirs from their working life but this is one of the best ones I have read. I loved the way it was written in every day language about every day people. It showed the desperation the staff within the NHS feel and yet shows their pride and desire to give every woman the birth they deserve and the birth they want. I loved the characters of the mothers and the relatives and the other staff. I really lovely book