Author Spotlight: The Story Behind My Book

By Author Stephanie Flood

I wrote When There Are Two Patients in One Body as a reflection of and tribute to my lifelong career as a Labor & Delivery nurse. Every shift brought a different mix of excitement, joy, frustration, laughter and tears, shared with a wide variety of patients and a steady, dedicated team of nurses, midwives, doctors, techs and secretaries. It was a world where life and complexity collided daily, and it shaped me in ways I’m still uncovering.

This book is my way of honoring the field of nursing as a whole, Labor & Delivery nursing in particular. Nurses are the backbone of patient care, showing up day after day with skill, resilience and compassion. In Labor & Delivery, we stand at the threshold of life, navigating some of the most profound and complex moments a person can experience. I want to give voice to the work that often goes unspoken. I wrote it to validate that what delivery teams do every single day, deeply matters. Our work is not just clinical; it’s human and deserves to be seen and understood.

My book shares powerful stories from the delivery room, many filled with joy, others marked by heartbreak. Some of the hardest stories to write were those involving abuse, maternal and fetal loss, and certain culturally rooted practices that resulted in lasting trauma. Each carried its own kind of emotional weight and forced me to revisit moments that were not only painful, but profoundly formative, both personally and professionally.

More than anything, I want Labor & Delivery nurses to walk away feeling seen, valued and validated. This work is physically demanding, emotionally charged, and often invisible to those outside the delivery room. My hope is that readers, especially nurses, see reflections of themselves in these pages: the quiet strength it takes to show up day after day, the grace required to navigate joy and heartbreak, often within the same shift and the profound impact we have on our patients even when we don’t realize it. What we do matters. If even one nurse closes this book with a renewed sense of pride, purpose or permission to feel the full emotional weight of this work, then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.

I wrote this book for women and their partners, for the patients in these stories and for those whose experiences may not include childbirth. Whether you’ve given birth, lost a pregnancy, made an impossible choice, longed to become a parent or chosen not to, your story matters. I want readers to feel acknowledged, respected and understood.

Whether you’re reading as a nurse, a patient, a loved one or simply seeking to understand what happens when there are two patients in one body, I hope this book leaves you with a deeper appreciation for the strength, sacrifice and humanity present in every labor and delivery room.

Author Bio:
Stephanie Flood is an experienced Labor & Delivery nurse and author of When There Are Two Patients in One Body.