Am I the only one who has some sympathy for Helen?

[Greenshadow]

For goodness sake, she is pregnant, not ill.

Why can't she continue doing her fitness classes (knee permitting). She's even been discouraged from swimming which is ideal in pregnancy.

Why can't she work up until 2 weeks before the birth? Plenty of people do and those that don't often work harder when at home than they would have done at work anyway.

Having said that, I don't dispute she has eating issues which need resolving.

I think you must be! Helen is one of the most annoying people I 'know'.

Ah, just found the 'annoying Helen' thread.

Don't dispute that she can be a bit annoying, but that doesn't have anything to do with her expectation to be able to carry on exercising and working throughout pregnancy.

I totally agree with the idea of "you're pregnant, not ill" but have no sympathy for Helen. I could sympathise if she was doing these things for fun or out of necessity (eg working til latest date because of finances) but she has this weird mechanistic philosophy. She seems to think that the correct Inputs - sperm from lab, count the calories, do scheduled exercise, add some vitamins and folic acid - will produce the correct Output i.e. the perfect baby. I don't think that anyone would object to a bit of exercise or carrying on working but Helen has to do it obsessively and to excess.

Helen has major psychological problems that manifest themselves as rigidly controlling behaviour, for herself and everyone around her. I guess we're supposed to feel sorry for her but she is so horrendously annoying, with that smug, 'I know best' delivery, that I have to yell loudly at the radio when she starts preaching.

I still can't understand how someone with a documented history of very severe anorexia could head off to a (presumably above-board, medically-approved) clinic and get herself impregnated without any apparent concern for/monitoring of her ongoing 'ishoos'. And of course she got pregnant immediately....so true to life, no?

I don't think there's any reason at all why a pregnant woman shouldn't be perfectly healthy and able to work, but it sounds to me as though Helen's knee-injury will mean she can't exercise, will therefore stop eating completely, and things will take a darker turn. Can't believe this storyline can end happily....

I agree with evenkeel. Though I was anticipating some serious post-natal depression when she finds out that you just can't create a perfect birth and happy sleeping baby out of ginger extract and positive thinking.

Of course that is assuming that she makes it through the pregnancy.

OP, I agree about the exercise and work points, I did aerobic exercise to the end of my pregnancies, I've known women who worked up until 2 weeks or less before EDD (without ill effects).

So I don't dislike Helen for either of those things.... but I loathe her smug "I know what I'm doing" and "My way is how it should be done" attitude about life/pregnancy management/ birth/how to conceive/being a single mum won't be that tough, etc.

I loathed her when she went mooney over Greg who was obviously such a creep.

I think you are. She drives me bananas!

Emma is a good example of pregnant but not ill.

Helen is flagged up as dysfunctional.

Because they're setting her up for something dreadful to happen to the baby in the big christmas storyline is my bet - and then they'll say it was all her fault.

I don't like how this story is going at all.

I do find Helen extremely irritating it's true, but part of me hopes that she won't be 'punished' for wanting a natural birth by ending up with a crash CS. Speaking as a lentil weaver you understand...

It's not the exercise and working things that gets to me. Just everything else

I think its going to be worse than that Rhinestone - I really think they're setting her up for the baby not to survive.

So much emphasis on her anorexia etc - she is 'damaged' in Archers-world and I never feel they really flesh their characters out.

I really hope I'm wrong though.

If only for the days of Brian and Siobhan.

I got back into the Archers around the time of the whole Brine affair, when it all blew up - marvellous.

Helen is on for a full-on breakdown isn't she?

Not thought that it could lead to an unhappy end of pregnancy... Oh dearie me.

part of me hopes that she won't be 'punished' for wanting a natural birth by ending up with a crash CS. Speaking as a lentil weaver you understand...

well i do understand, because i hate it onMn when anyone says 'oh i won't need drugs' and everyone goes 'oh, maybe you will...' cos it's ill-wishing, and wrong - people who opt for minimal-intervention quite often get what they want.

on the other hand, the way Helen has been about it, a Crash section would be Karma.

i don't see it going any other way.

I wouldn't wish anything terrible to happen to her baby. But will confess to a sneaking desire to see her develop an overwhelming craving for her mother's strawberry ice-cream and put on some weight.

is that bad?

No it probably is going to go that way, narrative arc and all that. But it would be nice to see a normal pg end in a straightforward labour and birth in a soap. Not forgiven them for making Hayley's baby so prem, after all they had been through...

please remind me when is Helen's baby due?

or as Helen had to spell out to poor Tony the other day "my Estimated Due Date" - has any pregnant mother ever referred to the due date by saying EDD with such obvious capital letters?!

she is annoying, smug and blinkered. but about the only interesting story line atm. I can't take any more of Pip's future / Pip's organ playing (fnar) or The Panto.

February I think - someone mentioned she was looking big the other day.