Belly Woman: Birth, Blood & Ebola: the Untold Story (Paperback)

"From Sierra Leone to London, from 2014 to 2020, Benjamin Black's account of helping pregnant women in the midst of an Ebola epidemic and a Covid 19 pandemic is heartbreaking and terrifying. Black has done a stellar job of narrating what it is like to be on the frontline of a crisis as it enfolds and then engulfs. Death waits in the shadows of the delivery room, not just for the mother or her child, but for the medical staff, too. A needle prick or a slipped mask can mean the end. The parallels between the two outbreaks are evident, the range of human response not much different: fear, desperation, denial, anger, stoicism, compassion and courage all take their turn. Belly Woman is a must-read for our times. It is riveting, illuminating and humbling." - Aminatta Forna, author of The Memory of Love and The Devil That Danced on the Water; "This is an inspirational story of compassion and dedication in the face of a brutal epidemic, and Benjamin Black is the one to tell it." - Leah Hazard, author of Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story'; "Brave, moving, and vital. A unique account of battling the Ebola outbreak while providing maternity care in Sierra Leone, and of the incredible women, families, and health workers Dr Black encountered. Read it." - Damien Brown, author of Band-Aid for A Broken Leg