Call The Midwife Series 13 Part 2

[PinkFrogss]

Or Call Saint Turner, as the show has really turned into.

I love the idea of a prequel DONE PROPERLY. Especially midwifery during World War Two in London. Pre NHS and how that worked (how did it get paid for?), lives of women whilst men were off fighting, and giving birth during the bombing raids. What if you were in labour when the air raid warning went off?

It would have to have the attitudes of those days and not be afraid of hard hitting stories.

I think my Mum has a baby book from those days. All I can remember from it is that weaning was at 6 months in those days, baby had to get lots of fresh air and it advised scrubbing your nipples with a scrubbing brush to prepare for breast feeding

I assume the nuns offered a free service.
For much of the pre NHS period midwives were local women with no formal training who would attend births and would be rewarded by payments in kind, gifts of food or whatever the family could pay.
Doctors would only have been called in an emergency and changed a cash fee but would be aware that for poor families there was a limit to what they could pay.

I bet both Catholic and Protestant nuns (like the CTM ones) did invaluable work at that time.

I think my Mum has a baby book from those days. All I can remember from it is that weaning was at 6 months in those days, baby had to get lots of fresh air and it advised scrubbing your nipples with a scrubbing brush to prepare for breast feeding

ouch!

I love the idea of a prequel DONE PROPERLY. Especially midwifery during World War Two in London. Pre NHS and how that worked (how did it get paid for?), lives of women whilst men were off fighting, and giving birth during the bombing raids. What if you were in labour when the air raid warning went off?

We had a family friend who was a domiciliary midwife in Greenwich in those days. Her employer was the London County Council. Though she wasn’t a nun! She did however ride her bicycle to deliver babies during the blitz!

For much of the pre NHS period midwives were local women with no formal training who would attend births and would be rewarded by payments in kind, gifts of food or whatever the family could pay.

Our friend was a qualified nurse who did midwifery training later. She was paid by the LCC.

Yes I googled it and it seems as though a lot of religious and charitable foundations paid for pre NHS births.
A lot of them were just attended by family members/mums/aunties etc and didn't involve midwives at all of the births-bit like the back stairs abortionists.
I also think they'd pay in things they had to hand-a greengrocer in produce for example

Oh a war time one would be great.
You would also have stories of women having babies while the husband was away at war and then working out it couldn’t be his!
How rationing affected their health (I believe you got extra if you were pregnant).
Giving birth in bombing raids.
Girls getting pregnant by GIs and the consequences.

Prequel sounds brilliant. My Nan had a friend called Bet (both East End girls) and she would always tell me the story of how Bet gave birth during an air raid at Bethnal Green station. Her Mum held a coat over her so no one could see while an off duty midwife delivered the baby.

I always used to stare at Bet in awe that she had done such a thing.

The BBC can have that one for free.

The slides but was excellent as it prompted me to find out what happened to the slides. I'd totally forgotten about them

I love the idea of a prequel.... so long as Heidi Thomas and her DH Stephen McGann AKA Dr Turner have nothing to do with it!!!

Was it the last of the series last week?

Yes....

Oh, it didn't feel like a series end so I was expecting more 🙁

Is there a Christmas CtM thread?

Ah, found it:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/5233126-call-the-midwife

Last year, I purchased a one month tv licence to watch it. This year I haven’t bothered. It’s not as good as it used to be and it’s ALL ABOUT THE BLOODY PERFECT TURNERS!!!

I was born in 1945 and I had a LILO as a child, so they have been around for a good long time.

Absolutely would!