When There Are Two Patients in One Body

In When There Are Two Patients in One Body, a Labor and Delivery nurse shares real birth stories drawn from decades at the bedside. Some births go exactly as planned. Others do not. All of them reflect what it looks like when birth becomes unpredictable in real time.
This book follows the author's career in chronological order through a series of births ranging from routine to tragic. The stories are told as they happened.
Within each account, the author includes reflections in italics that offer her thoughts in the moment and afterward. These sections share what she noticed, what she learned, and how each experience affected her as both caregiver and witness.
Rather than a single narrative, it is a collection of moments that show how varied and unpredictable birth can be.
As the stories unfold, they also reflect how factors such as healthcare access, race, culture, socioeconomic status, and education shape each experience in ways that extend beyond the moment of delivery.
Being a Labor and Delivery nurse is often described simply. This book shows something more complex. It is a vocation that demands resilience, empathy, and steady presence in situations that cannot be controlled.
Endorsement:
"Steph's stories are written just as they would sound over a beer or a cup of coffee."

• Jeanette Thomas, MD

Stephanie Flood is a registered nurse who graduated from Calvin University in 1989. She spent her entire nursing career caring for women and their families in Labor and Delivery at one of the largest birthing centers in the Midwest, working both at the bedside and as a charge nurse.
She is the author of When There Are Two Patients in One Body, a collection of real birth stories drawn from her years in clinical practice.
She lives in Michigan with her husband. She enjoys time with her adult children and grandchildren, traveling, reading, meditation, cycling, and yoga.