The Secrets of Midwives

The Secrets of Midwives

Sally Hepworth

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):A novel about three generations of midwives (a woman, her mother, and her grandmother) and the secrets they keep that push them apart and ultimately bind them together

THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES tells the story of three generations of women devoted to delivering new life into the world—and the secrets they keep that threaten to change their own lives forever. Neva Bradley, a third-generation midwife, is determined to keep the details surrounding her own pregnancy—including the identity of the baby’s father— hidden from her family and co-workers for as long as possible. Her mother, Grace, finds it impossible to let this secret rest. For Floss, Neva’s grandmother and a retired midwife, Neva’s situation thrusts her back 60 years in time to a secret that eerily mirrors her granddaughter’s—a secret which, if revealed, will have life-changing consequences for them all. Will these women reveal their secrets and deal with the inevitable consequences? Or are some secrets best kept hidden?
 
Review:  Ok, I am tired of books trying to preach about "better" alternative ways of life.  If you are pregnant and find out that there is a complication with the baby, it is obviously better, for the safety of the baby, to deliver the child in a hospital, despite the mother's bad memories of hospitals, and any other decision is selfish and irresponsible.  This book seemed to be trying to convince people that hospitals and doctors are terrible, and that everyone should plan a natural homebirth with only a midwife in attendance, regardless of the health of the mother and baby.  That's a great choice for people who have uncomplicated pregnancies and deliveries, again, if that's what the mother CHOOSES, but a hospital is clearly a safer and more responsible choice for many families.  Uggh.  The preachiness, especially from the midwife Grace, took away from my enjoyment of the book.

Looking past that, this was an interesting story about a daughter, mother and grandmother delving into complicated family relationships while helping women birth babies.  The character of Grace was generally annoying to me, but I quite liked Neva and Floss and their secret lives.

Rating: 3.5 stars