Hard Pushed
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  • Published: 2 May 2019
  • ISBN: 9781473569058
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 8 hr 9 min
  • Narrator: Leah Hazard
  • RRP: $19.99

Hard Pushed

A Midwife’s Story

Formats & editions
EBook
2 May 2019
Audiobook
2 May 2019
Paperback
20 Feb 2020
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A midwife memoir for today: HUTCHINSON'S LEAD NON-FICTION DEBUT FOR 2019

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Hard Pushed by Leah Hazard.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
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You haven't slept for twenty hours, haven't eaten for ten, and you're in charge of twenty heavily pregnant women at midnight.

Welcome to the life of a midwife.

Life on the NHS front line is tougher than you could imagine. Marathon shifts, endless birth complications, staffing shortages, pushy families, panicking mothers – and that's a quiet Thursday afternoon.

But the strength and camaraderie of the women working under such intense pressure is a beautiful thing. Together, they must withstand one of the world's most difficult job, one that produces moments of pure, absolute joy and –terrible, heart-wrenching grief.

Through the experienced eyes of Leah Hazard, we meet women from all walks of life: the scared fifteen-year-old whose baby could be months premature, the same-sex couple whose child will be a miracle of modern medicine, the woman giving birth in a room drenched in essential oils and love, and the mother-to-be whose tale of exploitation and endurance has carried her thousands of miles to 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.
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'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 ofCatching 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
  • Published: 2 May 2019
  • ISBN: 9781473569058
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 8 hr 9 min
  • Narrator: Leah Hazard
  • RRP: $19.99
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About the author

Leah Hazard

Leah Hazard is a serving NHS midwife. Having studied at Harvard, she left a career in television to pursue her lifelong interest in women’s health after the birth of her first daughter. She soon began working as a doula, supporting women in pregnancy and attending numerous births in homes and hospitals across the country. The birth of Leah’s second daughter prompted Leah to make the leap into midwifery. Since qualifying, she has worked in a variety of clinical areas within the NHS maternity services, including antenatal clinics, triage units and labour wards.

Praise for Hard Pushed

Hard Pushed charts a midwife’s most personal moments of triumph and devastating loss in a way that expands our understanding and gratitude to them. Leah Hazard’s ‘microdoses’ of love are exactly what we need at a time of transforming intensity. It is her 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

Captures the universal love, fear, despair and hope that underpins humanity. Leah's dedication to women within a system that's crushing midwives transforms the everyday stories of childbirth into a page-turning testament to the power of compassion.

Rebecca Schiller, author of Your No Guilt Pregnancy Plan and Chief Executive of Birth Rights

Leah Hazard describes the challenges and dedication of those working in the NHS. 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

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

Heart-rending, inspiring and funny, Hard Pushed brings alive the world of midwifery in all its complexity and radiates love and respect for women, even in the most frantic and anxiety-ridden moments.

Professor Lesley Page CBE, former president of the Royal College of Midwives

A riveting read: heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Sheena Byrom OBE, midwifery consultant and author of Catching Babies

A ‘love letter’ to midwives everywhere - which brings the maternity ward to life in all its gory, humorous and touching glory.

Telegraph

Part hymn to the strength of the pregnant and labouring women and part "warning shot, a battle cry" for a system in crisis... Abundant heart-warming and moving birth stories... Her tone is deeply reassuring... not only powerful but well-written too.'

Daily Express

Enjoyable and lively... pull[s] back the curtain on our intimate moments and leave[s] us with the impression that as a society we really should be doing more to look after those who look after us.

Cathy Rentzenbrink, The Times

Unpacks riveting tales of all kinds of deliveries and is underpinned by distress at the parlous nature of the understaffed and overworked NHS.

Arts Desk

With respect, humour, exasperation and affection, she tells stories of the women she has helped through the intense physical and mental work of labour . . . Powerful and provocative.

Sun on Sunday

You will laugh, cry and not quite believe what you read. I loved every word.

Sun

A fascinating book, packed with stories from the front line.

i news

It is a story beautifully told, intelligent and eloquent, that brings alive the fascination of midwifery, and radiates love and respect for women . . . Thank you Leah for telling our story so well.

Midwifery Digest