Surviving and Thriving in Midwifery

“I started reading this book as a task-orientated objective reviewer however I soon become immersed into a beautiful world of challenging self-reflection. I became a midwife for many reasons which aligned with ‘being with woman’ and ‘making a difference’ and never thought I would need to ‘survive’ but this book provides a psychological space to digest, reflect and develop your own belonging in the world of midwifery.It is more than a book to read, it becomes a toolkit for all midwives, from those newly qualified to those who are at senior levels, speaking to the many. It gives all midwives the opportunity to reflect on their professional practice but also their individual personalities, trauma, successes and experiences which I wasn’t expecting. It helps the reader to develop insight into their inner self, developing their interpersonal skills, working relationships and leadership opportunities.This book would help someone identify personal development goals therefore helping with career development. It would also help a midwife who has experienced trauma within practice and is looking for strategies to move forward. The style of the authors gives a sense of realism, with an almost conversational style which makes it approachable, easy to read but is eloquent and highly developed. The authors offer debates and conversations between themselves within the book, giving a podcast style at the end of chapters which gives a sense of realism. This book is quite profound, and I could not stop reading it.”Sophie Layfield, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery, published April 23, 2025 on

Dr Sally Pezaro is an award winning Fellow of the Royal College of Midwives, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, editorial board and consortium member and an academic researcher at Coventry University, UK.

Dr Karen Maher is a Chartered Psychologist and Academic in Organisational Psychology at Aston Business School, Aston University, UK. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and former Chair of the Organisational Psychology Special Interest Group for the British Academy of Management.