Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Telly addicts

Related: Film discussion forum.

Original poster

Call The Midwife

964 replies

Homethroughthepuddles · 26/12/2018 11:51

Surprised there's no thread on this. Did anyone watch it last night or has the series reached its natural end and is no longer attracting viewers?

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 04/02/2019 11:37

As you are being pedantic, you should not capitalise the word grammar

Or put an apostrophe in Nazis. (Although using that word in a frivolous way is in bad taste.)

SoupDragon · 04/02/2019 11:38

I'm reasonably sure there shouldn't be a space between "bollocks" and the full stop either.

steppemum · 04/02/2019 11:58

I have to say, I think CTM massively back reads morality in all these stories

  1. There is no way that any doctor in the 1960s would have referred a married mum with 2 kids and generally fine to have an abortion, and they would mostly have been shocked that she wanted one. Dr Turner's reaction last night was pure 2019, not 1960.
Of course he would have been shocked and distressed that she went for a back street one, but a typical doctor in 1960 would have massively disapproved of a woman in her situation having an abortion. Whereas he was just - I'm not allowed to help you. What is also interesting is that the woman's mother, who had mental breakdowns etc, probably WAS a suitable candidate for referral. There attitude shown across all the professionals was a bit - why can't we help these poor women, but I don't think that was the most common attitude, I think the most common attitude was disapproval.
  1. The nuns. Now I get it that they are all lovely and holy etc, but aren't they a catholic group? Even if they are protestant, they as a whole would have been much more moralistic in many of the situations they show. If they are catholics they wouldn't have been talking contraception either, and I doubt if the professional nurses/midwives under their care would have been allowed to.
again, it feelslike 2019 morality reading bakc into the story
Bittermints · 04/02/2019 12:02

They're Anglican nuns.

FairfaxAikman · 04/02/2019 12:10

There attitude shown across all the professionals was a bit - why can't we help these poor women, but I don't think that was the most common attitude, I think the most common attitude was disapproval.

I think those who dealt directly with the results of botched back street abortions were a lot more sympathetic than you'd think.
My grandmother nursed in the poorest area of Glasgow in the 1950s and she remains fiercely pro-choice.

Clionba · 04/02/2019 12:40

Good points above. These nuns and midwives worked with desperate, poor and abused women. As Sr Julienne said of a previous abortion, their duty was to care for the women, not judge them. I'm sure they had to be practical and realistic, not moralising.

steppemum · 04/02/2019 13:13

I agree to a point, but I cannot imagine that they woudl have been very sympathetic to last nights poor lady. Especially perhaps as they had seen desparate girls seeking abortions, and she (superficially) had the thigns that those girls didn't ie support, money husband etc.

I just think that we have forgotten how taboo and how unacceptable it was then.

My mum was a young married in 1960s and even getting good contraception wasn't easy! not available to unmarrieds etc

glamorousgrandmother · 04/02/2019 13:35

1. There is no way that any doctor in the 1960s would have referred a married mum with 2 kids and generally fine to have an abortion, and they would mostly have been shocked that she wanted one. Dr Turner's reaction last night was pure 2019, not 1960.
If that was true the law would never have been changed. Of course there were people back then who disagreed with the status quo.

SoupDragon · 04/02/2019 14:18

I think those who dealt directly with the results of botched back street abortions were a lot more sympathetic than you'd think.

I agree and think this applies to nuns/midwives/doctors.

steppemum · 04/02/2019 14:47

but when the law was changed, it didn't immediately help all groups.

If you talk to people who were adults back then, it was very unacceptable to have an abortion in the context of last night's case. Child 5 or 6 maybe, but not child 3, with no mental health issues etc.

I am not saying there weren't people around pushing for change, hence the law chaneg, I am just saying the whole show has everyone sympathetic and it wouldn't have been like that, there would have been a much more mixed response, and many would have not understood

legolimb · 04/02/2019 15:17

A weepy afternoon catch up here.

I didn't think she would die. I wonder how her husband will cope? Sad.

I'm glad someone clarified the actress who played Enid Wilson (?) was. I was also puzzling over where I'd seen her before.

Nice storyline there.

Bittermints · 04/02/2019 15:21

I thought they did a pretty good job, actually. The woman didn't want to have a third child. Her husband thought they'd cope and that three children was fine. Every HCP she spoke to tried to jolly her into accepting it and just getting on with things, for the same reason. Nobody said to her 'I know, isn't it awful, it's your body, it should be your choice'. Dr Turner reminded her about the law. He made it plain she had no grounds for a legal termination. He couldn't have done anything else.

The 100% sympathy for the woman's plight came when it became clear that she'd been so desperate she'd gone to a backstreet abortionist and paid the ultimate price, dying in fear and pain, leaving her children motherless and her husband a widower and single parent. They couldn't have shown anybody saying 'Well, she brought it on herself'. The ethos at Nonnatus House and in Dr Turner's practice just isn't like that. (To be honest, that's not that realistic. I was a small child in the 60s and it was a tough world back then in many ways.)

PCohle · 04/02/2019 15:33

I agree. I can completely believe some of them would be very sympathetic having seen the consequences of back street abortions but the fact that every single midwife, nun and GP is very understanding seems unlikely to me. The total unanimity seems improbable.

HoraceCope · 04/02/2019 15:41

Another one had a weepy afternoon, I wondered about them suggesting adoption but that would have been a whole different story

CoachBombay · 04/02/2019 15:41

I visited my nan today, and I asked her did you see call the midwife last night? Now she's in her 70's and was very much a young woman of the 1960's I mean my mother was born 1965.

Nan explained how certain member of our family had visited enter house number and street name back in the day for the same thing, a few died, it's just the way it was. She said something that stuck with me as I left "women are always told be strong, you can do this, but in actual fact were forced by circumstances never choice"

Anyway I digress, she said it was all a bit too luvvy dovey and the GP wouldn't have been all caring or half the midwives.

HoraceCope · 04/02/2019 15:42

Dm tells me how my df was really excited to hear about the coil in the mid sixties!

HoraceCope · 04/02/2019 15:42

I was one of three, presumably unplanned!

RedForShort · 04/02/2019 16:00

I can't recall well enough, but I'm sure there was a storyline on early in the series (when it was stoll Jennifer Worth's memoirs) where she felt quite judgemental about something. (Her attitude was what is thought to be typical of of the time.)

What it showed (the moral of that episode if you like) was that she'd lived a privalaged life with hardship and could have those attitude. Whilst others had either seen the hardship of lived it themselves where far more sympathetic and understanding of the woman.

steppemum · 04/02/2019 16:00

she said it was all a bit too luvvy dovey and the GP wouldn't have been all caring or half the midwives.

exactly. I am the same age as your mum by the way!

RedForShort · 04/02/2019 16:06

If they were supposed to be Catholic nuns there wouldn't be a cat in hell's chance I'd believe they'd be sympathetic. There's so few nuns left in it now though it would be difficult to have one pious sort. There was definitely one wasn't there? (Name escapes me.) She was unpopular on these threads because she wasn't sympathetic enough!!!

SoupDragon · 04/02/2019 16:09

I think theyre back up to the full quota of nuns from the first series aren't they? Maybe one short as I actually think they've lost 3 and gained 2.

Apart from the anonymous ones who used to appear at worship times but have now vanished.

RedForShort · 04/02/2019 16:11

I dont believe all GPs would be unsympathetic. I imagine they'd be few and far between. But Dr Turner being a Twat wouldn't be much use to the ongoing storyline would it!! (Same with the police sergeant man.)

I mean they hardly portrayed the mum as totally cook with seeking medical help did they? She wouldn't go as she was afraid of the consequences.

RedForShort · 04/02/2019 16:15

Actually yes they probably are. Posh nun and young nun - forgot them. Shame anonymous nuns have gone. I liked their singing.

Soubriquet · 04/02/2019 16:21

It was sister Winnifred who couldn’t keep her emotions about abortions to herself

She made it plainly clear she didn’t approve

The other nuns are much more sympathetic. They are there to help the women no matter what they have done

fikel · 04/02/2019 16:26

I think the medical profession has moved forward massively as far as compassion is concerned. My mum had a baby that was born prematurely and lived for 10 hours. She was put on a mother and baby ward and when she started crying a matron told her to stop being so stupid and pull herself together.
This was the early 60s.

Swipe left for the next trending thread