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Modern Midwives Blog
After the exhilaration that came with last week’s Women’s Liberation March, the Nonnatus House crew is looking to keep spirits flying high. Fortunately, with Easter around the corner, Poplar’s residents have a jubilant, community-filled event to look forward to: the much-beloved Easter Egg Hunt!
With so much festivity in store, surely nothing can go wrong, right?
Read on below to find out more.
For sisters-in-law Hope and Estelle Glennon — two Irish women who’ve recently relocated to Poplar due to the Troubles — their household is about to get a whole lot more crowded. As luck would have it, both women are expecting newborns within eight days of the other!
While Hope is ready to welcome her second child, first-time mother Estelle is all new to the experience. With their due dates rapidly approaching, anticipation starts to build. Which sister-in-law will welcome a new Glennon first?
Meanwhile, Poplar is expecting some special visitors of its own this week… Rosalind’s parents, Major Aubrey Clifford and Josephine Clifford!
Although Rosalind has lived in Poplar for the past two years, this occasion will mark the first time the Cliffords drop by London’s East End. And for Rosalind the emotional stakes of her parents’ visit feel somewhat higher now that she has a long-term partner to introduce them to.
At Nonnatus House, Rosalind confides in Joyce regarding her anxieties of Cyril and her parents finally meeting. Despite the Cliffords’ outward stance as “progressively-minded” individuals, will they be as open-minded as they claim to be? Or will they ultimately take issue with Cyril’s ethnicity and background?
In hopes to comfort her friend, Joyce reminds Rosalind that she also had strong opinions about her and Cyril’s relationship when it first began. Yes, there will be uphill battles ahead, but Joyce also believes “the world at large is starting to change, if only a little bit.” Plus, there’s no denying just how happy Rosalind and Cyril make each other, which in the end should be all that matters.
Come one, come all, to Poplar’s Easter Egg Hunt! With colorfully decorated chocolate eggs, baskets of confetti, and one fine Harry Chopra decked out in an Easter Bunny costume, the event is set up for overwhelming success.
However, just as Poplar residents begin to relax in the day’s festivities, Sister Catherine comes across a harrowing sight. Hidden behind one of the outdoor trash bins is a dog in distress, and it’s foaming from the mouth. Is it rabies?
Alarmed, Sister Catherine dashes inside Nonnatus and quickly rings the police. Outside, the Easter Egg Hunt comes to an abrupt end, and everyone gets escorted from the area as a precaution.
By the time the police arrive on the scene, the dog has died. However, in keeping with rabies protocols, the entire vicinity must undergo a thorough cleaning while the dog’s blood tests await results — a process expected to take at least two days.
Until then, the residents of Poplar will just have to “sit tight.” But public fear quickly builds, and soon enough, the real battle of thwarting mass hysteria emerges.
As a means of quelling public panic, Violet hosts a town meeting with Dr. Turner and Sister Veronica to share information about rabies control and treatment.
While many Poplar residents express their concerns regarding the potential outbreak, Dr. Turner responds with clear, concise information. He explains that early symptoms of rabies — fever, nausea, aches, and pains — can often look a bit like the ordinary flu. However, once the virus starts affecting the nervous system, subsequent symptoms become more distinct. For instance, muscle spasms, anxiety, confusion, paralysis, thirst, seizures, and a violent fear of drinking water.
In the crowd, the camera lingers on the face of Joel Bagnall, a young man who has recently returned from living in India. Now back in Poplar, Joel finds himself frequently butting heads with his father, Ernest, a widower suffering from a back injury.
At their house, Joel tries his best to help his dad out. However, Ernest is very clear with what he wants from his son: to get out of the house and find a way to make a living. Unfortunately for the young man, Joel’s talents lie with yoga and meditation, which has very little demand in 1970s Poplar.
From an outsider’s perspective, one can see both father and son share separate concerns for the other. Yet, neither quite knows how to properly communicate. Will the Bagnall men find a way to do so?
Meanwhile, at Dr. Turner’s clinic, Estelle is with her sister-in-law, Hope, who has begun to show the first signs of dilation. However, as Hope’s labor progresses, she begins to experience agonizing discomfort due to dystocia — or obstructed labor. Trixie realizes she won’t be able to deliver the baby on her own and calls Nonnatus House for reinforcements as a stricken Estelle watches over her struggling sister-in-law.
Sister Julienne soon arrives to assist and manages to deliver Hope’s baby son, Niall. At first he’s silent, but he responds to Sister Julienne’s efforts and fortunately begins to wail.
The next morning, Hope shows more positive signs of recovery, but she can’t help but wonder where Estelle has disappeared to….
Later, Sister Julienne checks on Estelle. While the mother-to-be seems relieved to hear Hope and her nephew Niall are recovering well, Sister Julienne senses there is something distressing her.
As it turns out, Estelle is tormented from the violence she witnessed in her home city, Belfast. Soon, Estelle begins to have a panic attack while recounting her experience escaping a bank bombing. Sister Julienne quickly calms her patient down, reminding Estelle that she is safe and no longer in harm’s way.
After soothing Estelle, Sister Julienne brings her to the maternity ward where the midwife receives even more context for her patient’s distressed state. As a child, Estelle witnessed her mother die during child birth — a traumatic event that left a lasting imprint on Estelle’s memory.
Dr. Turner reassures Estelle that at the time her mother gave birth, death during childbirth was very rare, and it continues to be more uncommon by the day. Although he did not know her mother, Dr. Turner can promise Estelle that her mother did not die of pain, and he will make sure that she feels “as little pain as possible.”
Following the events of Hope’s intense birth, Trixie stops by the Lady Emily Clinic, a private, upscale medical facility catering to the wealthy. Mr. Scarisbrick is surprised but delighted to see Trixie, and she jumps straight into the reason for her visit: maternity care in Britain.
After living in New York and visiting American hospitals, the midwife feels her eyes have opened to the advancements in medicine she saw there. Now, Trixie wants to apply what she’s learned within a British context. One area of innovation includes the implementation of epidurals during childbirth — a procedure she knows the Lady Emily Clinic also offers.
Back at the maternity clinic, Trixie relays her findings to Dr. Turner. Although he has read about epidural anesthesia and has attended lectures on the matter, he’s never actually seen one performed. The reason? St. Cuthbert’s currently doesn’t offer them.
Trixie informs Dr. Turner that at the Lady Emily Clinic, a mother can have an epidural administered for the total sum of 20 pounds. Dr. Turner is concerned by the price but is nevertheless interested when Trixie offers to connect him to Mr. Scarisbrook.
In some rather good news, the residents of Poplar experience a reason to take a deep breath. After undergoing a full toxicology report, the results for the sick dog have come back, and there’s no sign of rabies! Instead, the poor creature likely consumed rat poison. Alas, all of the hysteria was for not!
Meanwhile, Geoffrey pays a phone call to Sister Veronica. He reminds his friend that he hasn’t forgotten their recent conversation regarding her wishes to become a mother. Sister Veronica has yet to disclose this desire to anyone else, and she’s relieved to have Geoffrey’s friendship and support during such an emotional time.
Over at the Turner household, Sister Julienne stops by for an opportunity to “discuss policy.”
Dr. Turner explains that he is trying to move things forward with epidural provisions at St. Cuthbert’s. While Sister Julienne is not entirely closed off to the idea, she raises the point that the Nonnatus House midwives would never be able to offer epidurals for home births. And even at the maternity home, such a procedure would always require an anesthetist.
As a counterpoint, Dr. Turner notes that many women, such as Estelle Glennon, would unequivocally benefit from such treatment. If St. Cuthbert’s offered epidurals, he and the midwives could refer certain patients to deliver their babies there. Putting words to action, Dr. Turner has arranged to see an epidural block performed tomorrow at the Lady Emily Clinic.
However, there’s another issue that’s top of mind for Sister Julienne, one that she can no longer harbor as a secret any longer: the potential budget cuts from the National Health Service. Both Shelagh and Dr. Turner are dismayed and alarmed by the news — if Nonnatus House closes down, then so must Dr. Turner’s clinic. Neither can function without the other.
Thus, the question still stands. Will Nonnatus House forgo their religious clothing to continue receiving funding from the NHS? The decision lies in Sister Julienne’s hands, and she plans to deliver her answer at the end of August. Until then, the midwives must soldier on.
At long last, the day of the Cliffords’ highly-anticipated visit is here. With pots of the best tea brewed and an ample selection of pastries provided, everyone packs into Cyril’s apartment for a feast. Although the conversation is stilted with moments of awkwardness, all four adults appear to get off on the right foot.
However, when Rosalind accompanies her parents to the train station afterward, she’s overcome with a sense of frustration. Neither of her parents appear to have anything notable to say about Cyril, aside from him appearing “perfectly decent” and “respectable.”
Their words are hardly the reaction Rosalind hoped for. Why can’t her parents understand that Cyril is the man for her? Deeply disappointed and close to tears, she politely bids them farewell.
Later, Rosalind and Cyril meet up for coffee to discuss their thoughts about the meet-up. And he’s not surprised to have received the cold, arms-length reaction from the Cliffords. As he tells Rosalind, “To them I was always going to be … too different.”
But the young couple remain undeterred. As long as they have one another, they can battle through whichever storm that comes their way.
As predicted, Dr. Turner and Trixie are left inspired by the epidural demonstration at the Lady Emily Clinic. They agree that such a procedure should be available to everyone, not just people who can afford to pay for it.
Following all of the fear and dread leading up to her labor, Estelle is admitted into St. Cuthbert’s where she receives an epidural. As she undergoes her labor, Estelle is spared the pain and agony that accompanied much of Hope’s experience. And before long, she welcomes a young baby girl into the world.
As Dr. Turner and Sister Julienne remark afterward, epidurals are the future and “the future’s going to hold so many things.”
But just what else does the future have in store for employees of Nonnatus House? Only time will tell.
Forgot how we got here? Catch up on “Call the Midwife” with the Season 15, Episode 1 GIF Recap.
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