Frontline Midwife: My Story of Survival and Keeping Others Safe

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Before I had read this memoir I thought that the people that worked for MSF were somehow extraordinary people and reading this novel absolutely confirmed this. Far from presenting herself as a ‘white saviour’ figure, the author is often paralysed by fear, and ever cautious of crossing the line from healthcare worker to moral redeemer. Anna has a lot to cope with from the different culture, religions of those she is treating, their customs, superstitions, as well as the medical conditions and lack of medical supplies too. You describe cultures and healthcare so very different to ours but then in doing so you give these women who died a voice, immortalised those, who would otherwise have died leaving no trace, as dust.

As a midwife myself, I was completely caught-up in the narrative but its also a coming of age tale, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes inspiring and always fascinating.I recently finished Anna’s book and can honestly say it is one of the best and profoundly important midwifery memoir and illuminating world view book with regards to health care, in particular midwifery that I have ever read. Women, from what I have seen, seem to be at the bottom of the pile – they don't have the ability to speak out. Thank you for being so being so brave and inspirational, your honesty and authenticity and sharing your highs + lows and make it just a little easier for everyday folk to feel that it’s okay to not be okay. It is inspiring to hear how Anna and the women she cares for move forward in the most desperate of situations. Kent shares her extraordinary experiences as a nurse, midwife and mother, illuminating the lives of women that are irreparably affected by compromised access to healthcare.

Summing up this is an emotive memoir about a young woman becoming an aid worker, revealing what it is like for women giving birth in different areas of the world.

Anna’s writing has the power to shock without hyperbole (although there might be some hyperbole at her most blissful moments! I have so much respect and love for midwives - especially the two who helped bring my three children safely into the world. I have always stated that political sanctions don’t work and this book is the reason why since it demonstrates fully how those already suffering get to suffer even more.

In this book, along with her own journey, Anna has also written the story of those women who sometimes suffer from malnutrition at home, and sometimes due to lack of medicines, they put their child's life in danger as well. She describes one woman who discharges her ill child requiring life-saving treatment from the makeshift hospital, as she is terrified of her neighbour stealing her cooking pot.Should they choose to have children, childbirth should be one of the most liberating and empowering moments of a woman's life.