Call The Midwife

I didn't see anything remotely 'graphic'! It was left to the imagination...

I did n't either. Thought it was really good again. Suppose there was blood on her dress. But kid should be in bed.

kids not kid! all of 'em

Graphic scene? I must have blinked and missed it.

I thought it was very well done, especially the nurse doing her manicure as a sort of inference of what was happening, with the cuticle tool and the red nail varnish. I love the program, as although it was before my time, it still reminds me of much of my time in London, in Lambeth, as a midwife in the early seventies.

I fainted during Alfie. My friends father had to fetch us. Felt really silly.never been able to watch reruns. I didn't see CTM .usually catch up on I player

I was just on my way out of the room feeling squeemish when the phone rang (DD2 to make arrangements for our childminging this week) so I missed most of it. Does not have to be particularly graphic to set me off - I have a very vivid imagination

I thought it was a bit too much for pre-9 pm. But, speaking of anachronisms, the kids might be left with the impression that contraception didn't exist before the pill. The idea of a family planning charity was tossed in there but not pursued. And it simply wasn't true that you couldn't get contraceptive advice if you weren't married (although that wasn't relevant in the particular context). You could buy condoms at the barbers as well as at the chemists. Large families could get housed. One way was to allocate two next door houses or flats. And I remember being told about one mother of 12 who had been offered sterilisation several times but turned it down because she just loved babies. And how effective is the pill? Clinically, maybe, but socially? This series has been deservedly popular and the ethical dilemmas have been presented fairly, I think, up to now. But I thought this episode was more than a bit polemical.

I think the relevant bit in your post there is the "buy" condoms. Did you not get the fact that money was tight?

Not too sure she would have worried too much about the "social" aspects of the pill.

And if housing was so readily available, how come families lived in houses for years after they had been condemned as "unfit for human habitation".

"remember being told about one mother of 12 who had been offered sterilisation several times but turned it down because she just loved babies."

I can so imagine the circumstances in which you were told that.

#rosecolouredspectaclesofthemiddleclasses

I thought it was well done, and showed the desperation of it all.
Memories can be short.

I think condoms were 2/6 for a pack of 3? That was in the 60's. (I just happen to know this ). Many men were too embarrassed to buy these from the chemist as they might have had to ask a female assistant for them, so they would buy from the barber's at the time of a haircut - "Something for the weekend, sir?" On the top of the price of a haircut, (and how often would that be?) I would think that condoms may not have been top of the list for many men, if they were short of money.
Regarding the Pill, I thought that it didn't become available until the mid-sixties, and in CTM it seems to be referred to much earlier than that.

As part of my midwife course we had a section of the history of contraceptives. A lot of working class men were a bit prudish about the idea of buying condoms [this was in the 40's,50, and early 60,s] in fact many were still ignorant about it all. It was thought a bit 'rude' to buy condoms, if they were 2/6 for 3, a bit expensive too. People as poor as those depicted in CTM would not go to a barber for their haircut, it was usually done by their wife or a friend.
I thought the abortion scene was very well depicted. I just hope that todays young adults can see how awful it was then. I cannot understand why girls still have 'accidents' when there is a plethora of contraceptives available. Think about it, there is : Condom, pill, cap, injection, implant and morning after pill. If you do slip up an early abortion.
This subject is very dear to my heart because of what happened to me. I'd love to tell you all but it is far too long a story. I don't think Gransnet would approve of such a long story.

Gransnet disapproves of long, preaching sermons Dorset, but we have shared some personal stories that need to be lengthy in their telling, usually preceeded by a caution 'this is going to be lengthy.'

This is no sermon when just a typical story of a girl who got caught in 1963. I'll give it some thought.

jo8 what makes you think I was middle class? I heard the story (and others like it) about the mother of a large family from one of her nieces. And I knew two families who had two council houses each from being at primary school with some of the kids. We were living in rented rooms with a shared bath at the time and I thought it was quite lavish and exciting to have two houses. There were 3 lodgers, the family that owned the house, and us in 'our' house. And I agree with dorset as I said, contraception is widely available now and free and more unplanned pregnancies than ever. It isn't simple.

History of the pill. First prescribed (married women only) in UK in 1961 news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/250337.stm

I think the whole series has been excellent and it's important to cover the serious issues that surrounded poor, working class families. I'm sure younger people have actually learned a lot about life before the pill but DH and I remarked on the fact that the hour between 8 and 9 is normally reserved for 'feelgood' telly and many 11 and 12 yr olds might have been watching. As Jingle said earlier, younger children should be in bed!
What's the point of a watershed if you are going to show scenes of a dangerous, illegal abortion which might distress some people?

Exactly j08 We lived in a two room (condemned) flat right up until 1969. In fact we were one of the last families to leave. No indoor toilet no bathroom or kitchen. My parents and my sister and I all shared one room. The surrounding streets had all been bulldozed and were running with rats.

I watched CTM last night and did not see any "graphic content" whatsoever, although it left very little to the imagination.

I don't see why this story should be regarded as unsuitable for older children. It might have been thought provoking and encouraged discussion.

Well surely if its going to distress someone it will do it whatever time it was on?? I don't see how the time would make much difference

This stuff happened and it wasn't just married persons with too many children.

The plight of those unmarried girls was appalling we must not forget how they were regarded in those days.

I personally would have had no choice but to turn over if my grandchildren had been staying with me last night. It is half term this week and the children are allowed to stay up a bit later. I am not saying that I would have watched CTM with them anyway but wouldn't have felt comfortable with it even playing in the background. My eldest GD is 7 and I think she would have quickly picked up that something very nasty was happening and asked some very tricky questions.