britishbookworm's review
3.0
This book focusses on stories from a midwife - in the early part of the book we have a selection of stories of the various funny or poignant moments that "Pippa" has experienced as a midwife. We have a baby born in the lift, the poor student midwife getting covered in bodily fluids or dropping an essential piece of equipment into a birthing pool ... alongside we share the pain of still-birth, and other difficult circumstances and see how the midwives give individual care and attention to every woman whatever their age or circumstances.
We follow "Pippa" through her own miscarriage & then the birth of her daughter (she has more sympathy for the pain that her labouring mothers are feeling now!), and then the book really changes as the focus becomes the current pressures of the NHS - lack of staffing, long hours, and the subsequent mental health issues that "Pippa" suffers from as a result of the stress at work.
Parts of this section of the book were difficult to read in the sense that they felt moany & negative. I think we can all appreciate that the NHS is under a lot of pressure but its painful to see how the "managers" treat the frontline workers, especially when there are legal issues/litigation matters and how the pressures are taking their toll on the dedicated staff doing their best in difficult circumstances.
We follow "Pippa" through her own miscarriage & then the birth of her daughter (she has more sympathy for the pain that her labouring mothers are feeling now!), and then the book really changes as the focus becomes the current pressures of the NHS - lack of staffing, long hours, and the subsequent mental health issues that "Pippa" suffers from as a result of the stress at work.
Parts of this section of the book were difficult to read in the sense that they felt moany & negative. I think we can all appreciate that the NHS is under a lot of pressure but its painful to see how the "managers" treat the frontline workers, especially when there are legal issues/litigation matters and how the pressures are taking their toll on the dedicated staff doing their best in difficult circumstances.
More...