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Hard Pushed: A Midwife’s Story Paperback – February 20, 2020

by Leah Hazard (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,609 ratings
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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
________________
No sleep for twenty hours. No food for ten. And a ward full of soon-to-be mothers… Welcome to the life of a midwife.

Life on the NHS front line, working within a system at breaking point, is more extreme than you could ever imagine. From the bloody to the beautiful, from moments of utter vulnerability to remarkable displays of strength, from camaraderie to raw desperation, from heart-wrenching grief to the pure, perfect joy of a new-born baby, midwife Leah Hazard has seen it all.

Through her eyes, we meet Eleanor, whose wife is a walking miracle of modern medicine, their baby a feat of reproductive science; Crystal, pregnant at just fifteen, the precarious, flickering life within her threatening to come far too soon; Star, birthing in a room heady with essential oils and love until an enemy intrudes and Pei Hsuan, who has carried her tale of exploitation and endurance thousands of miles to somehow find herself at the open door of Leah’s ward.

Moving, compassionate and intensely candid, Hard Pushed is a love letter to new mothers and to Leah’s fellow midwives – there for us at some of the most challenging, empowering and defining moments of our lives.
_____________________

'The stories in Hard Pushed highlight the bravery of our midwives, and the women they care for.' CHRISTIE WATSON, author of The Language of Kindness

'Heart-rending, inspiring and funny, Hard Pushed brings alive the world of midwifery in all its complexity and radiates love and respect for women.' PROFESSOR LESLEY PAGE CBE, former president of the Royal College of Midwives

'It is Leah Hazard's capacity to love and give so personally to the many thousands of women she has worked with which imbues this book with its power.' JULIA SAMUEL, author of Grief Works

'Not only powerful but well written too . . . a worthwhile addition to a genre fast becoming as crowded as a busy maternity unit.' DAILY EXPRESS

'A riveting read: heartwarming and heartbreaking' SHEENA BYROM OBE, midwifery consultant and author of Catching Babies

'A beautifully written, intimate portrait of the extraordinary work that midwives carry out each and every day.' CAROLINE ELTON, author of Also Human: The Inner Lives of Doctors
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Arrow
  4. Publication date
    February 20, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    5.08 x 0.87 x 7.8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1787464210
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1787464216
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arrow (February 20, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1787464210
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1787464216
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.87 x 7.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,609 ratings

About the author

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Leah Hazard

Leah Hazard

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Leah Hazard graduated from Harvard University, working in print journalism and television before the births of her two daughters prompted her to change direction. She is now a practicing NHS midwife in Scotland and has worked in a wide variety of clinical areas, from labour wards to community clinics. Leah is the author of The Father's Home Birth Handbook and Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story, which was a Sunday Times bestseller in hardcover and paperback. Her writing has also been featured in The Guardian, New Statesman, The Times, Grazia and Refinery 29, and she is a frequent commentator on women's health and maternity services across the UK media.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,609 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ashlee
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Incredible
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2020
Verified Purchase
As a student hoping to go into midwifery next year, this book has ignited my excitement and passion for the profession I dream of spending the rest of my life doing. What an incredible journey!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
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Monica Mac
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing insights.
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2019
This was an honest but gentle account of what it is like to be a midwife in the NHS in the UK. A peek into the world of the midwife, a job which is exhausting and exhilarating and requires superhuman strength of character and body.

As a registered nurse, I found Leah's story very interesting indeed. I recall my own first steps as a nurse, as well as a couple of placements in maternity during my training, and I am in awe of midwives everywhere.

Loved the stories of some of the different births she attended, as well as her honesty at the toll being a midwife has taken on her personal life and her body. Of course, she is right that funding is always decreasing for health and you have to do more, with less. It isn't fair and I hope that government realise that cutting funding to health services is really cutting off your nose despite your face!

Without courageous midwives like Leah and her colleagues (and my friend Wendy, who is also an amazing midwife), the world would be a far poorer place and women and their babies would be at risk, physically and psychologically.

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars True reflection of reality
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024
Verified Purchase
As a midwife myself, also working in a socialist medical system, though not in Britain (Israel), I totally identified with the overworked midwives. She presents a system
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Steph Warren
4.0 out of 5 stars Intimate, honest and affectionate insight into modern midwifery in the UK
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2019
*I received a free ARC of this novel, with thanks to Cornerstone / Penguin Random House. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Deeply intimate and honest, Leah Hazard gives us an insiders view of modern midwifery in the UK.

The anecdotes she presents are funny and touching in turns, but regardless of the context she writes of the women (colleagues and patients) and their babies with a warmth and respect that make it easy to see why she chose this profession as her own.

Hazard doesn’t hold back from the more political aspects of the service too: staffing levels, financial struggles and bureaucratic meddling within the NHS, and she presents a clear and obvious case for burnout levels in midwifery specifically, and medicine in general.

My only criticism of the book is that each vignette is quite brief, so I felt like we dipped in and out of rooms without seeing the ‘characters’ through to a satisfactory conclusion. Which, as Hazard notes in the book, is pretty much what she faces as a triage midwife, so I definitely felt she captured not just the content, but the tone of her profession!

I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in midwifery, birth, or just looking for a quick, warm memoir.

Another night, another vagina.
It’s not unusual for me to spend the night between a stranger’s legs. Sometimes two or three strangers in the space of twelve hours. Tonight is a bit different, though. It’s 3.42 a.m. and things aren’t going to plan. Sitting in point-blank range of this particular vagina feels like staring down the barrel of a gun. Birth is inherently risky, a kind of physiological Russian roulette, but every midwife prays that she’ll dodge the bullet.

– Leah Hazard, Hard Pushed

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
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Top reviews from other countries

Lucy_19
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down and loved reading this book! Inspirational
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
Have just finished this book, and wow! Leah gives an accurate insight into what its like working in a modern healthcare system, and specifically the challenges faced by modern day midwives.

I'm a Nurse myself, so could relate to a lot of the issues highlighted, despite not working in midwifery.

I bought this book after having my twin daughters a few months ago. I had such a positive experience, the Midwives who looked after us in labour have inspired me to look at completing the conversion course to become a midwife. I thought this book would be a useful insight into what this role entails.

Leah has managed to mix humour with the more serious elements of midwifery. Incould picture the ward and felt like I was in the room with her and her patients, like a fly on the wall. There is a glossary at the end of the book, with terms used and their basic meanings.

I would recommend this to anyone thinking of a career in midwifery, any mums or mums to be (it's interesting to see labour from the professionals side) and also for anyone working in healthcare who just wants to read about the experience of another speciality (and surprisingly a lot will resonate with them too!)
4 people found this helpful
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Emma Pearson
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written book which captures the raw emotions of birth
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2019
Verified Purchase
I bought this book 11 days after having my second baby, a home birth that was in real contrast to my first birth experience. I had found myself increasingly thinking about retraining to be a midwife and was looking to read some books that might highlight the realities of what I can imagine is an incredibly difficult job at times. I suppose I was kind of wanting to be put off as it would make life a lot easier!

Unfortunately it hasn’t put me off.... the book is for the most part beautifully written and the authors words resonated with me, I laughed out loud and cried. It also helped me to understand more fully the circumstances surrounding both my children’s births. Suffice to say the book was so good, I couldn’t put it down - started reading at 8pm and finished at 12.30am, as be it breastfeeding a baby whilst reading for most of that time! Great read!
9 people found this helpful
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mollie georgia
4.0 out of 5 stars Would recommend
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
Would recommend and a good read but as a midwife would have loved this book to go into more detail on why we are burnt out and what can be done and call for action. But that is not Leah’s job alone, and at least she is one of few who is raising the profile of midwifery
One person found this helpful
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Jill Kitchen
5.0 out of 5 stars Very upto date.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book, I had no idea how the staff felt and all the work they do. Very interesting stories.
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Deborah Rideout
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
Brought as a gift for my sister who is training to be a midwife. She absolutely loved this book.
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