Title: Hard Pushed
Author: Leah Hazard
Page Count: 304
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: ★★★★✯ (4.5 – can’t put a half star so you get something fancier)
I got this as a preview copy from the nice people at Netgalley . I will always be honest about a book no matter if I paid for it or not. There are also affiliate links in here, too 💜
I’ma go out on a limb here and say that if you’re pregnant perhaps you might want to give Hard Pushed a miss until you’ve squeezed out your tiny human. BUT! If you want to know what happens behind the scenes and the more traumatic events, then pull up a chair. You’re in for quite a ride.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way, never before has a book made me cross my legs quite so quickly and then squirm around wondering how on earth a baby actually comes out of that tiny space.
This book follows Leah Hazard through her journey from student to fully fledged midwife and, oh boy, is it a roller-coaster of emotions. Enter a hopeful mother-of-two who’s decided to change her career and go back to school. After all, you’ve been through it twice so technically you should have a rough idea about what’s to come. *insert
The book is set up in two ways: first you’ll be given notes on a certain topic and then you’ll get a story to explain it more. You’ll meet people like Star, who just wants things to go her way, and people like Pei who’ve been trafficked and will leave you in despair about what other humans are capable of doing to each other.
Lastly, this is a candid look into how much strain our beloved NHS is currently in. Whilst this only focuses on the art of midwifery, it’s a cry for help before the system we’ve all come to rely on crumbles before us.
My main takeaway from this book? Midwives are humans, too. Stop being dicks to them. Oh and there’s a glossary at the back. Dazzle your mates with your newly boosted vocab.