A review by elanna76
The Secret Midwife: Life, Death and the Truth about Birth by Katy Weitz, Philippa George

4.0

I went in for the shock value (I know, I know, one should not say it out loud), I stayed for the heartfelt account of how the neo-liberal management systems so popular in the last 20 years around the world damage the people involved at all levels: families, women, babies, workers. As an early years educator, the frustration and rage I found in the narration resonated with my own experience, most than anything the feeling of impotence at seeing people in our care missing out on important rights because of the idiotic idea that public health (or education) should be treated as a business, instead of a tax-funded, rights-based service; and the feelings of insecurity and anxiety that come with the knowledge that no manager at any level will protect us from the terrible consequences of any accusation, mo matter how far-fetched. How easy it is to destroy a carer's, midwife's, nurse's or early years educator's life because of an innuendo or an angry reaction from a parent or a relative, and how difficult it is to clear the air when the accusation evaporates.
Definity on my "should be read in schools" shelf.