From Goodreads
Strongest supporter, best friend, expert, cheerleader and chief photographer . . . Before, during and after labour the role of a midwife is second to none. The Secret Midwife reveals the highs and lows on the frontline of the maternity unit, from the mother who tries to give herself a DIY caesarean to the baby born into witness protection, and from surprise infants that arrive down toilets to ones that turn up in the lift.
But there is a problem; the system which is supposed to support the midwives and the women they care for is starting to crumble. Short-staffed, over worked and underappreciated - these crippling conditions are taking their toll on the dedicated staff doing their utmost to uphold our National Health Service, and the consequences are very serious indeed.
About Katy Weitz one of the Authors
Katy Weitz is an experienced ghostwriter of inspirational books and is fortunate to have worked with some incredible people over the years. She always loves to hear from readers and anyone who believes they have a story to share.
Before turning to books, Katy was a national newspaper journalist for ten years. At 28, she became Features Editor of The People before leaving in 2005 to set up her own story agency, First Features Ltd, which sold stories to all parts of the national and international media. Since 2010 she has ghosted eleven books for some of the UK's major publishers and two privately-commissioned memoirs. A storyteller of the highest order, Katy harnesses all her skills to bring incredible true stories to life.
Literary Agent Andrew Lownie says: 'Katy is one of the most gifted ghostwriters working in the industry today.'
My thoughts
I borrowed this book from BorrowBox the digital lending side of my local Library.
I gave this a 4 stars or 8/10. Katy Weitz has written an account of the Secret Midwife and her life surrounding how she became a Midwife as it was something that she had always wanted to be.
I found it an interesting read that gave an insight into life as a Midwife and the effects on other aspects of a Midwifes life. Sometimes we have to learn to leave work behind when we go home, but this is not always possible and our work life can impact on our personal life. I felt for the Midwife involved and having been a Nurse many years ago, I do know that the medical profession as a whole is under a lot of pressure all the time and I fully understood some of the pressures that the Midwife found herself under due to record keeping in the notes, shortage of staff and generally the pressure on themselves due to the role that they do.
This following passage resonated with me.
'And here's a suggestion: we could start by cutting the number of managers in half in order to put the money back into healthcare professionals. I know that sounds simplistic; I know that many clever people will dismiss my suggestion as naive or impractical. But here's the thing: in my fifteen years as an NHS Midwife, the numbers of managers has doubled while the number of midwives has halved. Meanwhile, I have no actual idea who my line manager is or who I 'm meant to complain to if something goes wrong. So while our service is increasingly top heavy, the lines of responsibility have become blurred and there are fewer people actually doing the job. You do the maths.'
This observation is one that I noticed when I was training as a Nurse way back in the early 1990's and I can only imagine that the problem has got worse over the years, with more and more managers taking the higher salaries at the expense of not being to employ as many staff lower down below them.
The fact that as a society we are all fed the line, that 'where there's blame, there's a claim' helps no one. When things go wrong this can only heighten the pressure on all medical staff nowadays as they wonder if they may face repercussions. It's no wonder that many in the profession are feeling the pressure at all. My heart goes out to all the medical profession, as in my opinion they do a great job and should be respected for the service that they give.
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