#ADGIFTED in return of a review I am gifted books to read, regardless of my thoughts and opinions. This book has lots of trigger warnings, so read if you are ok reading about graphic births, baby loss, neglect, and death. Medical book.

Belly Woman by Benjamin Black

Book Info
Genre: Non-Fiction, Medical, Medicine, Memoir

Length: 368 pages

Published: October 2022

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62565364-belly-woman

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Belly-Woman-Birth-Blood-Untold/dp/1911107577/

Blurb
Hailed as “a must-read for our times” (Aminatta Forna) and “eye-opening, kind, and inspirational” (Adam Kay), Belly Woman tells the story of what happens to pregnant women when a humanitarian catastrophe strikes.


May, 2014. Sierra Leone is ranked the country with the highest death rate of pregnant women in the world. The same month, Ebola crosses in from neighbouring Guinea. Arriving a few weeks later, Dr Benjamin Black finds himself at the centre of an exponential Ebola outbreak. From impossible decisions on the maternity ward to moral dilemmas at the Ebola Treatment Centres: one mistake, one error of judgment, could spell disaster.


An eye-opening work of reportage and advocacy, Belly Woman chronicles the inside journey through an unfolding global health crisis and the struggle to save the lives of young mothers. As Black reckons with the demons of the past, he must try to learn the lessons for a different, more resilient, future.

About the Author – Benjamin Black
Dr Benjamin Black is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist and a specialist advisor to international aid organisations – including Médecins Sans Frontières. His focus on sexual, reproductive and maternal healthcare for populations in times of crisis has taken him to many countries working with humanitarian organisations, UN bodies and government departments. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic he provided frontline healthcare to pregnant women and developed international guidelines. Benjamin was a member of the expert panel for the inquiry into racial injustice in UK maternity care.

My Review (This book has lots of TRIGGER WARNINGS) I’ve read a lot of books over my life, and various genres. But hand on heart I’ve never read anything quite like this. I have numerous family members that have or are still working for the NHS, and I myself have been treated over decades and over 10 surgeries by the NHS. So I felt the book was a good fit, could it open my eyes to the failings of care of people around the world? Absolutely YES it did. Lots of *Trigger warnings again* we are faced with huge sways of neglect, leading to baby loss, deaths. So while I know there is some failings in our NHS when faced with what West Africa went through, the lack of support from other countries, lack of tools our Dr Benjamin Black has at his disposal, it does make you realise how blessed we are. The local medics of Sierra Leone being incredible under the circumstances, and doing their best in the face of an epidemic. He does try to tie this to how London was during the pandemic, which I felt should of not been included. It’s an eye opening read for pandemic responses, not a book typically for enjoyment persay, but one most certainly to learn from, especially the HOPE you have to have.