Leah Hazard – författare

Giving birth is everyone’s business.In this book, midwife and bestselling author Leah Hazard takes us from luxurious birthing suites to maximum-security prisons, from border town clinics to refugee camps, freebirthing communities to wards dominated by algorithms, showing how childbirth provides a startling lens onto the biggest issues of our time. With clarity and curiosity, Hazard explores how inequality, migration, climate change and political currents are shaping this universal yet intimate human experience, revealing the competing forces that are battling to technologize, moralize, commoditize and dominate the birth space in ways that have already transformed our bodies and our world.In exposing the fragility of modern industrialized maternity care Birth Wars issues a warning and a rallying cry: highlighting the transformative – or destructive – power of this essential act, not only for the person giving birth, but also for the child who bears the lifelong effects of that day, and for society as a whole.

A landmark book on the womb - its history, its present and the possibilities for its future - by the bestselling author of Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story'A gripping exploration of the science of the uterus, the politics of medicine and the future of reproductive freedom' New Statesman'Page for page, I may not have ever learned more from a book' Rob Delaney, author of A Heart that Works'It will change the way you think about bodies forever' Rachel Clarke, author of Dear Life'Empowerment in book form' Maxine Mei-Fung Chung, author of What Women Want'A phenomenal book' Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell WomenThe womb is the most miraculous organ in the body - with the power to bring life or cause death; to yield joy or pain - yet most of us know almost nothing about it.In this book, midwife and bestselling author Leah Hazard sets out on a journey to explore the rich past, complex present and dynamic future of the uterus. She speaks to the Californian doctor who believes women deserve a period-free life; walks in the footsteps of the Scottish woman whose Caesarean section changed childbirth forever; uncovers America's long history of forced and coercive sterilisation; observes uterine transplant surgery in Sweden and takes a very personal dive into the world of 'womb wellness'.Written with wisdom, warmth and nuance, and combining the author's years of experience as a midwife with medical history, scientific discovery and journalistic inquiry, Womb is an extraordinary exploration of a woefully under-researched and misunderstood organ. Above all, the book reveals that the uterus is more than the sum of its biological parts: it influences all our lives in the twenty-first century, and how we celebrate, medicate and legislate the womb might yet control where we go from here.

*WINNER OF THE SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023**A FINALIST FOR THE 2024 PEN / EO WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD* A landmark book on the womb - its history, its present and the possibilities for its future - by the bestselling author of Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story'A gripping exploration of the science of the uterus, the politics of medicine and the future of reproductive freedom' New Statesman'Page for page, I may not have ever learned more from a book' Rob Delaney, author of A Heart that Works'It will change the way you think about bodies forever' Rachel Clarke, author of Dear Life'Empowerment in book form' Maxine Mei-Fung Chung, author of What Women Want'A phenomenal book' Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell WomenThe womb is the most miraculous organ in the body - with the power to bring life or cause death; to yield joy or pain - yet most of us know almost nothing about it.In this book, midwife and bestselling author Leah Hazard sets out on a journey to explore the rich past, complex present and dynamic future of the uterus. She speaks to the Californian doctor who believes women deserve a period-free life; walks in the footsteps of the Scottish woman whose Caesarean section changed childbirth forever; uncovers America's long history of forced and coercive sterilisation; observes uterine transplant surgery in Sweden and takes a very personal dive into the world of 'womb wellness'.Written with wisdom, warmth and nuance, and combining the author's years of experience as a midwife with medical history, scientific discovery and journalistic inquiry, Womb is an extraordinary exploration of a woefully under-researched and misunderstood organ. Above all, the book reveals that the uterus is more than the sum of its biological parts: it influences all our lives in the twenty-first century, and how we celebrate, medicate and legislate the womb might yet control where we go from here.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, from the co-host of the podcast WHAT THE MIDWIFE SAID________________No sleep for twenty hours. No food for ten.And a ward full of soon-to-be mothers...Midwives are there for us at some of the most challenging, empowering and defining moments of our lives. From heart-wrenching grief to the pure joy of a new-born baby, midwife Leah Hazard has seen it all.But life on the NHS front line, working within a system at breaking point, is more extreme than you could ever imagine.Moving and compassionate, funny and unexpected, Leah shares her experiences in this extraordinary love letter to new mothers and fellow midwives everywhere._____________________'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 of Catching 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

What do a Dutch university lecturer, a US Marine, a Scottish artist, and an English engineer have in common? They have all experienced the transformative power of home birth, and their stories - and many others - are told in this groundbreaking book. As hospital-based maternity services become increasingly medicalised, more and more parents are deciding that birth belongs in the home. For many women, this choice may be an easy one, but for their partners, home birth raises some serious questions. For the first time, The Father's Home Birth Handbook provides a resource aimed specifically at exploring men's hopes and fears around home birth. Thorough research, balanced discussion, and dozens of home birth stories from real men all over the world make this book essential reading for all fathers-to-be and the professionals who support them.