The First Breath

Beautifully written -- <b>Stevie Davies</b> This jaw-dropping story of medical discovery is interwoven with Gordon's own deeply moving story of her own experience as a new mother with a child in neonatal care. It conveys, brilliantly, the devastating emotional impact of being separated from one's child, and the shock of an unexpected diagnosis. -- <b>Useful Reading, <i>The Birth Trauma Association</i></b> A gem...So impressed by the tenderness and science -- <b>Dr Rana Awdish, author of <i>In Shock</i></b> A book full of emotion and one that medical practitioners should read -- <i><b>Jewish Chronicle</b></i> Absolutely gripping -- <b>Harriett Gilbert - BBC Radio 4 <i>A Good Read</i></b> Genuinely brilliant...exceptionally powerful, deep and important. -- <b>Professor Daniel M. Davis, author of <i>The Beautiful Cure</i> and <i>The Compatibility Gene</i></b> Extraordinary . . . An absorbing and awe-inspiring account of the extraordinary foetal and neonatal medicine that is enabling a new generation of babies to thrive. -- <b><i>The Bookseller</i></b> Exceptionally moving . . . a pleasure to read. -- <b>Professor Dame Kay E Davies, Professor of Genetics, </b><b>University of Oxford </b> A wonderfully well written, brilliant discussion of the evolution of genetics, prenatal diagnosis, fetal and neonatal medicine, ethics and popular prejudice interwoven into a framework of [the author's] own very human story and the other mothers who tell of their experiences so graphically . . . moved me to tears. -- <b>Professor Stuart Campbell, British fetal medicine pioneer</b> We take pregnancy and childbirth for granted. Now please read The First Breath and be thankful for your children's lives. A compelling and uplifting book. -- <b>Heart surgeon Professor Stephen Westaby, bestselling author of <i>Fragile Lives</i> and <i>The Knife's Edge</i></b> A meticulously researched history of fetal medicine and a heartfelt account of parenting preterm babies. -- <b>Leah Hazard, bestselling author of <i>Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story</i></b> This touching and hopeful book skilfully interweaves medical history, reporting and - most movingly - memoir. -- <b><i>The TLS</i></b> Very powerfully told. -- <b>Emma Barnett, <i>BBC Radio 5 Live</i></b> Smart, sympathetic -- <i><b>Sunday Times Style</b></i> Part memoir, part analysis of neonatal and postnatal care. It's wonderful. -- <b>Clover Stroud, </b><b>author of <i>The Wild Other</i> and </b><b><i>My Wild and Sleepless Nights</i></b> Pacy and accessible . . . It is the female experience of such invasive surgeries that remains the focus here; expectant mothers steeling themselves for needles as long as rulers and learning to navigate a strange form of knowledge about a child that has yet to enter the world. -- <b><i>Prospect - </i></b><b>who named <i>The First Breath</i> one of the best science books of 2019</b> A touching, insightful and engaging memoir. -- <i><b>The Lancet</b></i> A triumph of memoir-cum-non-fiction and a love story starring our heroes, the NHS . . . Totally brilliant and touching . . . tender, well researched and unputdownable, the best book I've read in the last twelve months. [The First Breath] moves effortlessly between personal stories of children and cutting edge scientific research . . . [Gordon makes] us feel the great and risky adventure of surviving a difficult childhood and becoming a person: and the linked one of being a parent . . . a wonderful, intelligent writer. -- <b>Maggie Gee - BBC Radio 4 <i>A Good Read</i> choice</b> Heartstopping -- <b><i>Daily Mail</i></b> Excellent . . . A serious journalistic investigation into foetal and neonatal medicine . . . reads like a thriller. -- <b><i>The Times</i></b> Fascinating and moving. -- <b>Adam Kay, <i>Sunday Times</i> bestselling author of <i>This is Going to Hurt</i></b>