Frontline Midwife: My Story of Survival and Keeping Others Safe

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Women, from what I have seen, seem to be at the bottom of the pile – they don't have the ability to speak out. She gained her First Degree in Midwifery in 2010 and has worked as a midwife across the world, including in South Sudan, Haiti, Bangladesh and the UK. The book may well help some readers to recognise unhealthy thought processes and potential signs of needing more support from friends, colleagues and employers. Another down for Anna is the fact that she, and the other aid workers live in constant fear of being kidnapped, even to the point of carrying cash to pay off potential kidnappers.

At 26 years old, not yet a fully trained midwife, she delivered a baby in a tropical storm by the light of a headtorch; the following year, she would be responsible for the female health of 30,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. I love the hopeful optimistic part at the end however, with her daughter on the beach it’s really was very emotional and made me cry.This book heads you so close to life and death with the thread of hope that numerous paragraphs will make you cry. At that point, a tropical storm broke out while Anna sprung into action to deliver baby Moses by the light of a headtorch, battling through horrendous weather conditions. It’s empowering and refreshing to read an account about birth written by a woman, a mother and a midwife. Angry at the ongoing horrific loss of life and the disability causes by a lack of midwifery care and basics such as clean water, sanitation, food and immunisations.

It takes you on an emotional journey that may leave you exploring your own inner world, motivations and choices. The heart-wrenching tale of one midwife’s quest to help others – and make peace with herself ‘Leah Hazard, author of Hard Pushed ‘Extraordinary, profoundly moving, all-consuming . I also found it fascinating that James has gone from being around the beginning of life to now working with those at the end of their lives.Highlighting the side of aid work that you don't hear about: the pain, frustration, anger and trauma that these wonderful human beings go through was heartwrenching to read. This is heartbreaking to read at times but you cannot turn away because you fall in love with Anna and want her to come through it all in one piece.

During her time as a nurse she witnessed one woman who had walked for nine days to reach the centre where Anna was based – having no access to a midwife closer to where she lived – and Anna said she was at a dangerous point in labour. I loved her characterisation of James and other co-workers and the descriptions of her relationships with the people she was trying to help keep safe were truly heart-rending. Kent exhibits a powerful sense of insight and self-reflection throughout the book, which more than once spills over into undue self-criticism. The affects that working in such a hostile environment with life-and-death decisions constantly left up to her clearly caused a huge amount of mental distress. At twenty-six years old, not yet a fully-trained midwife, she delivered a baby in a tropical storm by the light of a headtorch; the following year, she would be responsible for the female health of 30,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.The author really bears her soul, and I imagine that writing this book must be quite must’ve been quite cathartic .