The Secret Midwife: Life, Death and the Truth about Birth

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There are many interesting birthing stories. But there was one that really stood out in my mind as the author was wrong. A man had been convicted of making and distributing child porn on a national level. One room of his house had been turned into a professional-style video studio. He was later imprisoned, but his wife denied all knowledge of his activities and the police did not have enough evidence to charge her. She went off with her husband's best friend (who was also not charged) and was now in hospital giving birth. Social services were going to take the baby and give the parents a court date for hearing to see if they could reclaim their child. The author was very firmly in the camp of if the parents hadn't been convicted they must be innocent and therefore should have their child. Besides the woman was a very nice woman, not the sort... I loved this honest review of being a midwife. The whole warts and all birds eye view from the coal face. I found the vivid descriptions of the various births/stitches/blood & meconium made me feel like I was in the room. Brilliant loved it

the secret midwife - confessions of a pragmatic midwife stuck the secret midwife - confessions of a pragmatic midwife stuck

True to her character, Emilia is in the camp less than 24 hours when she takes a stand against the horrors. Her life is saved only because of the intervention of a compassionate doctor, whose own story of character is told too. I've decided not to have children, but every now and then I'll experience something in my life that would make my brain go 'self, you'll make a fantastic mom' but then I'll be 'but do you want to be a mom?' The answer is, it's not a matter of whether I want it or not, it's whether I can afford it or not. This is an emotional, heartbreaking read steeped in factual events. Despite being such a difficult subject matter, it truly honors the brave individuals who did the right thing despite the threat of harm, injury or even death. This is a must read!!!!! The first half of this non-fiction recount of a midwife in the NHS system is uplifting, emotional, entertaining, and funny. The author revisits the highs and lows of her early career in midwifery, where relationships and care are the norm with patients. From the bestselling author of The London Girls comes a story of courage and resilience amidst the horror of Auschwitz—and one woman’s last chance to share it with the world.The Secret Midwife is a work of fiction, but inspired by many real-life accounts of the Polish resistance, the brave doctors, nurses and midwives imprisoned in the camps and those who fought to save as many lives as possible in Poland during World War II. For several months last year, Philippa worked in the community with minimal PPE. Things came to a head when she caught a new mum violating Covid rules at Christmas time. I really didn't know much about what being a midwife really means. I had no idea of the pressure and strain midwifes face every day. I absolutely loved this book! It gives a similar insight to the NHS as Adam Kay's books, only this one straight from the midwives!

The Secret Midwife: Life, Death and the Truth about Birth The Secret Midwife: Life, Death and the Truth about Birth

Short-staffed, over worked and underappreciated - these crippling conditions are taking their toll on the dedicated staff doing their utmost to uphold our National Health Service, and the consequences are very serious indeed. This was one of those perfectly written books that I devoured in a day because I just couldn’t help myself from reading on and on. Suddenly a prisoner of Auschwitz, Emilia is surrounded by horror and despair. When she is put to work as a midwife in the camp, she realises that she has a chance to bring a small glimmer of hope to the pregnant women of Auschwitz. Alongside a brave imprisoned doctor, Aleksy, and an innocent outcast, Lena, she comes up with a dangerous plan. A plan that if discovered could mean a fate far worse than death, but if they act undetected, they could save countless lives… Notes on reading The author relates stories of her experience, but it's all very one-note, there is no reflection, no depth, but maybe that's to come. So far the only interesting bits are on how nice the Aluthor finds the travelling community although beyond saying that the men are very respectful (to the nurses at least) and their caravans are very clean, I don't know how this is supposed to change the public perception of them.Indu, 36, said: “I was not allowed into the scans and sometimes my wife had questions. It was quite hard. The feared Doctor Mengele is mentioned in this book, he likes to experiment on pregnant women and twins and tasks them both with alerting him to any pregnancies in the camp. The dual timeline narrative isn’t easy to read, the Holocaust was brutal and inhumane and nothing is left out. Even worse was the treatment of young innocent teenage girls, pregnant women and newborn babies. There’s an author’s note at the end where she details the inspiring people whose real-life heroism the characters of Emilia and Aleksy were based on- I definitely recommend reading it. The author did a great job of providing a window into this brutal history, and am empathetic look at what many suffered through. It was a tough but worthwhile read.