Womb: The Inside Story of Where We All Began

*WINNER OF THE SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD*



A landmark book on the womb – its history, its present and the possibilities for its future – by the bestselling author of Hard Pushed: A Midwife’s Story



‘A gripping exploration of the science of the uterus, the politics of medicine and the future of reproductive freedom’ New Statesman



‘Page for page, I may not have ever learned more from a book’ Rob Delaney, author of A Heart that Works



‘It will change the way you think about bodies forever’ Rachel Clarke, author of Dear Life



‘Empowerment in book form’ Maxine Mei-Fung Chung, author of What Women Want



‘A phenomenal book’ Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell Women



The womb is the most miraculous organ in the body – with the power to bring life or cause death; to yield joy or pain – yet most of us know almost nothing about it.



In this book, midwife and bestselling author Leah Hazard sets out on a journey to explore the rich past, complex present and dynamic future of the uterus. She speaks to the Californian doctor who believes women deserve a period-free life; walks in the footsteps of the Scottish woman whose Caesarean section changed childbirth forever; uncovers America’s long history of forced and coercive sterilisation; observes uterine transplant surgery in Sweden and takes a very personal dive into the world of ‘womb wellness’.



Written with wisdom, warmth and nuance, and combining the author’s years of experience as a midwife with medical history, scientific discovery and journalistic inquiry, Womb is an extraordinary exploration of a woefully under-researched and misunderstood organ. Above all, the book reveals that the uterus is more than the sum of its biological parts: it influences all our lives in the twenty-first century, and how we celebrate, medicate and legislate the womb might yet control where we go from here.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Imprint: Virago UK
Publication date: 07/03/2024