Here is a background insight into the life of a midwife in the nhs of today, Not all of it is sweetness and roses, some parts are heartbreaking so get your tissues ready.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

This was a heartfelt, funny, personal and at times harrowing story of life as a modern day midwife in the NHS. Call the Midwife it isn't!! A really interesting read.

We all know what midwives do. They do an amazing job bringing new live into the world, and they get to cuddle babies all day and night – just how lucky do they want to be?

Ok, so maybe it’s not quite all cuddles and teeny tiny feet and fingers. In fact, it’s very often not like that at all. Leah Hazard (yes, that’s her real name) came to the profession a little later in life, and threw herself into her new role as an NHS midwife with impressive gusto. A sensitive, yet sensible mother of 2, she has seen it all, and to be frank, covered in most of it.

Leah is like that friend you have that you go to when you want real advice, rather than platitudes. She’ll tell you the truth, but do it gently, in a way that makes you appreciate her sensitivity rather than get defensive and want to slap her. She brings this quality with her to the maternity ward, and as hundreds of expectant women swarm the phone lines to Triage, she has to try and separate out those who are convinced that their recent fake tan has harmed their baby, and those who are genuinely in urgent need of medical intervention, but who think they’ll just be ‘making a fuss’.

Easy to read and full of heart, this book is in some ways a female focused version of Adam Kay’s spectacularly successful debut novel “This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor”. While I felt really uncomfortable and frustrated at how the pressure is unflinchingly piled on this essential resource and the consequences that this has for the midwife, the patient and underpinning it all, the NHS, Leah Hazard has written a warm, witty and compelling account of why these services should be protected at all costs.

I generally love reading these true account type books from workers within health settings. I think it gives us, members of the public and professionals working in care to see the other side of the coin. Hazzard takes us through her career both as a student starting out and as a qualified midwife, working with people from all walks of life, different colleagues and the joys and horrors encountered helping bring babies into the world.

I read the kindle version of this, there is a list of words/terms used within the book that readers will find helpful especially if not familiar with midwifery. If reading on the kindle it may be worth checking them out before starting the book so you don't have to flip back and forth. Hazzard gives an honest look into her day to day duties and how different one birth can be to another. Different aspects of her job, the joy, the fears, the sheer volume and crises midwives of today have to face.

I loved reading her passion for what she does, it comes across pretty much throughout every encounter. I learned a few things too and whilst I have always respected midwives for what they do I didn't realise how much their job entailed and if possible have an even greater respect now. Being with and assisting another person bring a child into the world is an amazing thing and sometimes we forget or ignore all the potentials that can go wrong. The book gives insight into it all and I have always said women who gave birth should have a gold star, I am thinking two or more now! The human body is an amazing thing and stories like this bring home just how fantastic and wonderful it can be. An emotive read and an eye opener of yet another service that is working under the strain of cuts from the government, more demands than often they can cope with and yet the staff continue to give 100 percent because what else can you do when working with people. 4.5/5 for me this time, the book is out to buy from May 2nd, ebook and tree book format.

As someone who works for the NHS as a nurse I totally "got" this book. When the days are good, they are fantastic but when days are bad, they are REALLY bad. I totally empathised with the writer throughout and understand how heartbreaking and joyous the job can be. Really enjoyed it.

A ‘warts and all’ telling of a midwife’s lif e. Nothing is spared. I found myself laughing one moment and crying the next! It shows the stresses and strains of those working in today’s NHS. I had great difficulty putting it down and am still thinking and talking about it. I have told so many people that they need to read it ....even a nurse sitting next to me on a plane!
Read it if youcare.

A true memoir by a Canadian/English midwife about her work in the NHS. Her book shows us just how underfunded, understaffed, under waged and under resourced midwives are. They are perhaps the least recognised area of nursing for its strains and difficulties that come from being there at the time of birth - literally your babies’ lives are in their hands - and they are overworked. There aren’t enough beds now that just about every birth is in a hospital.
Home births are now a rarity (except perhaps in very rural areas of Scotland where getting to a hospital is tricky). And yet, given the right circumstances, and assuming that the birth is not expected to be difficult, a home birth can be much less traumatic for all, including the baby. The next best thing is what was offered when I was pregnant. The GP ward. Where you are quiet and attended by your GP and a midwife rather than the high tech version. And you can easily move into the high tech version if needed. Giving birth can be hazardous for some and unexpected occurrences happen quickly. Which bis where the poor midwife is on hand - hopefully, to sort the issue out.
Though I did appreciate the high tech version when I had to have epidurals and caesareans.
I found this a genuine and moving book. I know a young midwife and met her several times as she was training, and know how hard it was for her and what long hours she worked.
Leah told her story in a very accessible style. Her words were clear and not flowery - but compassionate and truthful.
I wish there were more than 5 stars to give!

This is a fascinating read that takes you into the world of midwifery as experienced in the UK National Health Service. The book is essentially a series of insights into the day to day events of one midwife (the author Leah Hazard) from her training days through to her current role. During that time she takes the reader through a series of highs and lows from various perspectives and emotions. At times we are inevitably exposed to the political aspects around the funding of the health service, but this does not detract from the fact that our medical teams are doing an excellent job with less than optimal resources.
This book is suitable for all readers of any age or gender and has given me an insight into this challenging world of the midwife. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novel invites the reader into the world of midwifery as seen through a modern midwife's eyes. I read it as a registered midwife and can say that although there are differences in practice, the overall storyline of the novel takes the reader on a journey through the challenges and pressures we are experiencing as a profession today. This short novel moves at a fast pace and is threaded through with well written (fictionalised) anecdotes. There are laugh out loud moments amongst the all too familiar details of complex care and highly pressurised workplaces. I am not sure what the experience of reading this novel would be like for a reader who is not a qualified midwife but hopefully they will read it with an open mind and come to appreciate the person under the uniform.

Enjoyable story of life as a midwife in the NHS.
Full of personal anecdotes and reminiscences which remind you the book is based on somebody's real life experiences. The book is an easy and enjoyable read with moments of sadness and humour.

An inside look at the working of a maternity hospital, from the perspective of a midwife.

Having had the privilege to work on a maternity unit briefly as part of my medical training, I recognise a lot of what Leah Hazard is saying in this. She has a humorous take on the struggles and realities of work within the NHS at present. I could tell how much she cares for her patients and understand the difficulty of being seen as too soft for the system. I hope people pick it up, read and get to see the human side of those caring for us when we need them, for whatever reason.

Really enjoyed this. Fortunate timing reading it now as my wife is due to give birth next month! Very well written, and engaging. I don't do many non-fiction as usually prefer crime crime fiction for 90% of my reading, but this was well worth stepping out of my comfort zone for.

Hard Pushed is a sensitive, thought-provoking and honest memoir. Leah trains as a midwife after having her own children and she is thrown in at the deep end, dealing with everything from stillbirths, FGM and human trafficking to a hippy named Star resisting any medical intervention during labour. After reading this book, you'll be very aware of the kinds of pressures midwives work under and why so many of them are sadly, but understandably, leaving the profession.

Importantly, it shines a bright light on the challenges facing every single hardworking employee of the NHS which is under-resourced, to put it mildly. This book is one of many voices imploring not only the powers that be but we the people to fight for the NHS before the system well and truly crumbles.

If you enjoy the TV and book series Call the Midwife, you'll find this memoir of what it's like to work as a midwife in the UK today just as compelling.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.

A fantastic memoir, I loved it.

I love medical memoirs. I really loved this one! There were still more different scenarios in here, even though I've read a number of midwife memoirs before.

The author didn't decide to train as a midwife straight out of school. She was inspired initially by a video of birth in a health education class at school. But it was years later, when she was married and the couple decided to start a family when the idea resurfaced again. They live in Scotland. I've read midwife memoirs before but those were midwives in the USA and New Zealand, and doing missionary work in Africa, so it's nice to read about a midwife's experiences closer to my home.

She tells of her first shift on the labour ward as a student midwife. Actually being with women having babies. Straight away she's thrown in at the deep end, these didn't sound like what she had been lead to believe, that she would be seeing mostly 'normal births'. So many things can and do happen.

This book was so good. Addictive reading which kept me awake until the small hours! It was interesting, sensitive, emotional, and sometimes humorous.

Her dad encouraged her to write down her stories of her experiences as a midwife. So glad she did, it was a fabulous read.

A fantastic memoir, I loved it.

A thought provoking, joyful and sometimes recasting read. I recommend this book if you enjoy a look behind the scenes at nature’s greatest miracle and also the struggles that the medical professionals face on a daily basis

I really enjoyed this book, it was honest, straight to the point, funny and also a little sad.
It was like she had opened a door to their world and what happens behind the scenes and it reinforced just how lucky we are.
The memories were funny as well as sad but not in a depressing way but rather a this does also happen which does make you reflect without lecturing.
It was a pleasant read and one that I finish in one sitting. Thank you for sharing.

I really enjoyed this book - after the increasing number of industry insight books from the past few years this has definitely filled a gap a market that was previously dedicated to male doctors and lawyers. So interesting to get an insight into the life of a midwife and the difficulties they currently face in the NHS. I would recommend it to anyone!

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 and strap on in. 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 womp womp sound here*

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.

The latest in the current trend for medical memoirs, Hard Pushed is a compelling and emotionally engaging account of what it's like to be an NHS midwife. This is an important book which emphasises the value of midwives and explores the reasons why so many of them are leaving the profession. It's no spoiler to say that they are indeed 'hard pushed'.

By turns shocking, amusing and sad, Leah Hazard's narrative is so vivid that it's guaranteed to stay in your head long after the book is finished. I'm glad I've read it, even if some of the content was upsetting. Not limited to the topic of safely delivering babies, other topics are included, such as people trafficking, FGM, depression, anxiety and interpreting. There is so much involved in being a midwife, particularly in under-resourced NHS hospitals in today's diverse society. It's a constant challenge to provide decent care for babies and parents. The strain on midwives' mental health is considerable too and I admit I never considered that before.

I liked the author's writing style. It was easy to read and she even provides a glossary at the end. Her love for the patients and her dedication to the role are evident. I suppose that having had children myself increased my interest in this book and also desensitised me to some of the gruesome details. Different readers may have different reactions. There was the potential for birth 'horror stories' to dominate, but to Hazard's credit she includes as many easy births as difficult ones. 

In summary, this is a wonderful and gripping book which will bring tears to your eyes and give you a new appreciation for midwives.

Thank you kindly to the publisher Random House UK for the advance copy via NetGalley. This book will be published under the Hutchinson imprint on the 2nd May.

NB. Review to be published on my blog on 26/04/2019.

A reasonable book, and probably very interesting for anyone looking at training to be a midwife, but unfortunately it comes on the back of Adam Kay’s infinitely superior ‘This is going to hurt’. While the tones of the two books are clearly designed to be different, this one just doesn’t cover the woes of the NHS any where near as eloquently. I was left feeling a bit like I’d voyeuristically nosed about in other people’s lives.