Midwife on Call: Tales of Tiny Miracles

Midwife on Call: Tales of Tiny Miracles - Agnes Light This is the memoir of Agnes Light, a woman with a very strong passion for her working life. It's a story of her journey through life as a community midwife. This isn't the usual sort of book that I would pick up as I've never really thought about childbirth or the jobs of doctors and midwives. Since I am expecting my first baby I thought I would try and get some information, I've been trying self help books but have found them a bit too clinical and impersonal so I thought I would give this memoir a go. I was pleasantly surprised when I finished this...I really enjoyed it. I found the attitudes towards patients and staff within the NHS in the 60s to be fascinating compared to what it is like now. I knew it was different but just not how different. Agnes' journey was a brilliant read as it was like being in the room with these women as they gave birth, I felt really involved, emotionally and mentally. Some of her stories were heartwarming and filled with joy yet others were devastating and full of heartbreak. The reader is taken to both sides of the spectrum of midwifery, no stone left unturned. I like Agnes' attitude and outspokenness, she wasn't afraid to speak up for the rights of her patients. The only thing that grated on me a little bit was that she kept mentioning how open minded she is, how supportive and non-judgemental she is yet at one point she spoke about a certain scenario and explained how she wouldn't do it that way and she didn't understand why these women did the opposite to her...I wouldn't say that's very open minded as she wasn't aware of all the facts. I believe if she knew fully the circumstances of some of these women then she would of understood their reasoning for doing what they did. This is why I chose to give the book 4 stars instead of 5...I had a bit of a grumble. Overall, the book is fascinating and very descriptive, it doesn't sugarcoat things and it doesn't spoon feed you excess amounts of medical jargon so a pretty easy read. I found it very emotional in some places due to the trauma some of these women had to go through, it was always fully expressed and explained in great detail and so I wouldn't recommend this book to really sensitive readers, it could be quite overbearing at times, however, I found this was necessary in order to get the reader emotionally involved. I borrowed this from the library and am very glad that I did, I will be looking for other similar stories to read.