Call the Midwife

That's a home full of memories, Libradi.
My brother was born in 1957 too, also at home. I clearly remember barging into my parents' bedroom, pretending that my apron needed to be done up, to try and see what was going on, and seeing my mother stretched out on her back, with no clothes on, on an ironing board. I do realise now that it could not have been, but cannot imagine what it was. Did midwives take trestle tables?? Surely not. I suppose it must have been a bed but in my mind it was so high up....

I was born at home in 1957, I'm hoping my mum watched the programme, I'm sure it will bring back memories for her. The house she lives in now (was my grandparents) is the house I was born in.

Mum and dad moved back in to look after my gran when she was ill. Seems strange to think I was born in the front bedroom with my dad, grandparents,aunties uncles all waiting downstairs. I was a breech baby so certainly wasn't easy for her and she was only 17 at the time.

We nursed my dear dad when he was dying in the same room and he died there 12 years ago.

darn!
When my DS2 was born DS1 was 6. He woke up to find his brother in a crib next to the window. "When will be be able to take him downstairs - cos there's a temperature difference isn't there?" he asked.
2 minutes later he said "Oh look it's SNOWING!' and opened the window above the baby's head. Bless.

green

Goodness knows why the midwife didn't take the placenta away with her. I wish she had, because she asked my husband to bury it in the garden. Unfortunately in his excitement, he put it in my new nightie that I'd kept especially for afterwards....and buried that as well.

I had those iron injections for two weeks after I came home from the hospital after DS1 arrived. The syringe was enormous! The black stains on my thighs lasted a year - not a good look with a swimsuit.

DD2 at home in 1978 - i did not fancy Oldham hospital (at the time very taken up with preparing for the worlds first test tube baby birth)
No special preparations and my bedroom was pretty small. Birth was easy except GP turned up to stitch a tear without any local anaesthetic. But 10 days later I had a post partum haemorrhage at home which was no fun. Passed a clot the size of a placenta and promptly passed out. Seems the midwife had not noticed the signs that the placenta had a little offshoot which had been retained. I had to have iron injections that turned my backside brown. I think the residue of those injections still lurks there to this day.

When my son was born at home in 1973 I was told to collect newsaper but not for putting under the sheet. My midwife showed me how to make little pouches to put all the cleaning debris in and very useful they were too. She tok the placenta away with her.

My babies were born in 1969 and 1971 too and we had warm air heating so no open fire, I believe the midwife took the placenta away with her. She showed it to me as it was of interest, there was a complete knot in the cord, another few minutes and he might not have made it as it was very tight.

I did my midwifery training in a poor part of Newcastle in 1967 and this series is bringing back memories.
We disposed of the placenta on the coal fire, if the fire was not lit we took the placenta back to the hospital where it was put into the incinerator on the maternity ward.We were told never to put it in the rubbish bin.The reason for that was that the council disposal unit would, if they discovered it, would alert the police thinking there was a baby's body somewhere in the rubbish as well.
Another method of disposal was the patients garden, if she had one.
The mothers were told to start collecting newspaper before the birth.This was laid over the bottom sheet, and a disposable sheet was put on top of the paper.Some families did not even have a cot, but always had a pram the old coachbuilt type.The baby was put into the pram and the neighbours would then visit in their droves.
Mothers stayed in bed longer then but that did not stop them attending to the older children.Often we would come in the days after the birth and find the mother sitting up in bed and washing a toddler from a bucket placed by the bed. In the winter the mother often had her bed brought downstairs into the living room when she went into labour so the room was heated by the only coal fire. I remember watching a mother in heavy labour clinging onto the wall in the downstairs room during contractions while her husband and a neighbour were putting her bed together after they had taken it to bits to bring downstairs. It was freezing in the bedroom and my supervising midwife had demanded that the baby was to be born in a warm room.

On the topic of washing up bowls, my Mum had a very heavy plastic bowl in the early-mid fifties. She was so proud of it and, in fact, it was only thrown away when I cleared out their house in 2001 - by then it was relegated to the garage but was still, just about, in one piece. Her grandaughter now rejoices in using anything enamel
At first I thought Call the Midwife was set in the 30/40's and was very surprised when I realised it was the late 50's; but I still enjoyed it and am looking forward to Miranda next week.

Wasn't able to watch on Sunday and Iplayer is very unreliable on my laptop. Has anyone noticed if it's to be repeated anywhere before next Sunday?

Greenmossgiel, re disposing of the afterbirth, we didn`t have an open fire then either, strangely, mine were in 1969 and 1971 as well, but the midwives took them away with them. Actually, there was a fashion a few years ago for cooking and eating the afterbirth, but wild horses couldn`t have dragged me to the dinner table if THAT had been on the menu!

nutmeg I have attended births in the sixties and seventies in worse conditions than those shown. I vividly remember once when one of the numerous cats was giving birth to kittens on the table at the same time!

So glad nutmeg has said that. I was born in the East End and lived there in the fifties. Mum had me in hospital,considered normal for first child, sure we only had a cold tap, a tin bath and loo outside but we weren't dirty. Water was heated in the "copper" washing rung out on the mangle - if you folded it properly it saved quite a lot of ironing. Obviously there were families who didn't look after their houses and had lots of raggy kids but my grandmother would have had a fit if people thought she lived like that. it looked more like the 30's to me. The fogs were pretty grim though, you could taste themand smell them yuk!!

I lived in the East End of London in the fifties. My first baby was born in 1956 and I feel that the care I received during pregnancy and birth was very good. I only saw part of the T.V. programme on Sunday,but it seemed to reflect the conditions of my grandmother's time. We had lived through the difficulties of the war and life was getting much better. The scene of the home birth was like something from the turn of the century.. It didn't reflect my experiences at all.

Two of my babies were born at home, in 1969 and 1971. So much better. The only stipulations for the one born in 1971 was that there had to be hot running water in the house, but it didn't seem to matter about that in 1969, which was just as well, because we only had a cold tap! The fact that there was no coal fire on which to dispose of the afterbirth did cause a problem for the 1971 birth - so it had to be buried in the garden!

My younger daughter was born at home, hardly interrupting our routine with other daughter. The birth was at night, but had it been daytime DD1 would have been allowed to come in or out at will. We were all so relaxed!

I have been reading in next week's Radio Times that Jennifer Worth had Miranda Hart in mind when writing her character, what a shame she did not live to see the outcome.

I had a home birth, much better because I was with family. When I had first baby in hosoital they did not allow husbands to attend.

Actually, out of my five births, the ones I most enjoyed were the last 2, where I was at home, vastly preferable to the hospital.

I really enjoyed "Call the Midwife." My daughter had read it last autumn just before she had her first baby and told me it was good. I will wait until the series is finished before I read the book as I usually find that dramatisations of books that I have enjoyed ruin the book for me -"Lark Rise to Candleford" was dreadful.
There are still people living in squalid conditions in this country but hopefully most of them don't have to give birth in their home now!

I was amazed how youthful and trim and young looking the woman who gave birth to 25 children was. It was surprising nobody had a quiet word with the husband regarding the use of condoms! He must have had a very good job to feed 27 people in their household.

The Bristol Brabazon flew low over our school. I must have been about 12, as I think I was in first year of secondary school - 1952 -53.

Yes Annobel that was like the sink I can remember, the tap was really high up so used to splash everywhere.

I can still remember the big tin bath hanging outside on the wall, by the outside loo, but I can remember my baby bath was definately plastic, it had a teddy bear picture on the side. It was used for year afterwards for all sorts of things until it split!

The only memory it gave me was that bl***y rubber tube and jug for the enema at the beginning of labour....