The Secrets of Midwives is the insightful debut novel of Melbourne author Sally Hepworth. It tells the stories of three generations of midwives, 3 very different women with very different ideas.

Birth is a beautiful thing, a glorious miracle that sometimes doesn't go to plan. There are always going to be people who are strongly opinionated when it comes to birthing methods, and that's okay, as far as I'm concerned as long as the end result is a healthy mum and a healthy bub I'm happy. Hepworth manages to explore many different births and birthing methods and show them all for the miracles that they are.

Floss practised midwifery for decades, she has now retired from practice but still teaches. Her training took place in England in an era very different from the one we birth in these days. A much simpler time when the midwives would attend the mother in her home without doctors and all of the interventions that are becoming so common.

Her daughter Grace is a midwife advocating home births and running her own home birth clinic, far from the interfering hands of doctors. She is a force in all aspects of her life and it has affected her relationships with the ones she loves the most. Grace grew up with a single mother and no extended family, we are left wondering if this is the basis of her overly dramatic nature and need to be at the centre of everything. Grace is a character that it took me a long time to warm to, almost as long as it took for me to begin to understand her.

Neva is the real centre of the story, midwife in a birthing center attached to a major hospital and heavily pregnant to an unnamed man. She is strong, independent and extremely good at her job. She believes strongly in the miracle of birth away from the clinical setting of a hospital, a birth led by the wishes of the parents and free from intervention but she is also a firm believer that modern medicine, and doctors, play an important role - sometimes the ideal birth needs to be compromised to ensure a healthy baby and a healthy mother.

This book was beautifully written. It was about three woman – grandmother, mother and a pregnant adult daughter – who have this wonderful relationship. It may not be a perfect one, or a completely honest one in the beginning, but it was a truthful and easily relatable one and it made it all the more endearing to read.

After the first chapter and the POV changed from Neva to Grace to show the different side of a conversation that was continuing on, I was frustrated. I had just got into the “mind” of Neva – how she was, spoke and her personality and then all of a sudden I was thrown into her mother’s perspective. I was lost (in the fact that I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading from Grace’s POV and not Neva’s). But after that initial shock, I found it easy to follow on with each character change and I eagerly awaited the next POV while enjoying the one I was already reading. It was easy to step from one character to the other. They all had different voices and talked about different things happening in their lives so I wasn’t lost anymore. In fact I found it refreshing to learn about each woman and their lives they have lived.

I also loved the midwifery in this book. I had a midwife for both of my pregnancies and they were wonderful women and I couldn’t have done it without them. They are the best support any pregnant woman could ever have – aside from their partners of course. They have such passion and admiration for the pregnancy and birth process that you would never find anywhere else. And this book shines a light on those women, showing us just what kind of strength, skill and love they have for their job. It definitely took me back to my pregnancies and made me reflect on them in such a proud way. Pregnancy and childbirth is an amazing experience and Neva, Grace and Floss all prove that is magical in its own way.

But even if you’re not interested in all the childbirth stories, this is definitely a book to add to your to-read list, especially if you’re after a heartfelt, cozy read with a touch of mystery (the mystery being – what is Floss hiding and who is the father of Neva’s baby?) I loved every moment of this book and was delightfully pleased with the ending. It was just the right kind of read for me – not over the top “lovey-dovey” or too much of a mystery that wouldn’t let me think – it was downright perfect in every way.

Two thumbs up from me.

The secrets of midwives follows three generations of midwives as they hide from their secrets, from each other and determine the right time to come clean with their mysteries to one another.

Neva, the youngest of the trio of midwives, is a cold, removed character who is difficult to appreciate. She has a strange relationship with her mother, creating large distances between them and more often than not announcing her disdain at the choices her mother makes.

Grace, Neva’s mother, isn’t all that likeable either. She’s bossy, ignorant and pushy when it comes to her daughter. When Neva’s pregnancy is found out (how exactly two midwives weren’t able to tell that she was 7 months along is a bit of a stretch), Grace refuses to go along with Nevas “no father” idea, plotting and scheming trying to get to the bottom of the mystery, due to her own experiences being fatherless.

Floss is the matriarch of the family, who traveled over from London with infant Grace after her husband died in a farm accident. Now living with a woman, the rest of the family is unsure about the skeletons in Floss’s closet, but Lil, her partner, has had enough and wants Floss to come clean.

The most interesting story told in this book is Floss’s experience as a midwife in post-war London. Seeing her friend leave her studies to marry a charismatic farmer leads us down a dramatic tale of friendship, bravery, and mothers instinct. This is by far the best aspect of the novel, and is narrated well.

The secrets of midwives is passable as a contemporary love story, but there’s something missing from the characters, as it’s difficult to invest in their tales.