Call the midwife

My dad left my 9mth old brother in his pram outside the post office. By the time mum had run to get him, little bro had managed to get the shopping from beneath the pram mattress (it was a big pram with a sort of well underneath the body) and was happily squeezing out the guts from some herrings from the fishmonger. Mum said bro was covered in scales.

Suedonim
My story is less alarming but awful for me. I left the pram outside the department store, (every small town had one back then). I tried on clothes and had a really good browse and forgot I had a baby. I left by another door and was halfway home when I remembered. Baby was still sound asleep.

NCT probably hadn't reached Poplar by then. It was very middle class. I didn't find a group until 1976 and had moved to a city. I already had 2 children

I also was shouting at the tv last night. That incredible scene with the furrier sitting down carefully and slowly putting in those many tacks into the fur skin. My Dad was a fur nailer then. It was first of all, very much, a standing up job. There would be several skins nailed with chalked out pattern shapes on a very large, heavy board. Skins dunked in a bucket and then the nailer set to with his tools - a bag of old rusty nails, hammer and pair of pliers which he used to pull skins to the pattern and then nail them. Five skins would all have been done within about 10-15 minutes. Then that board lifted down, and new one placed on tressles. In a normal working day Dad would have probably do at least a couple of dozen of those boards, each with five or six skins.

Did not know anyone then who did ALL the furrier jobs themselves. They were strictly divided and different people in different roles. Top of these was THE CUTTER, he who actually cut the skins to shape. Then the NAILER. Then the machinists, large industrial machines, usually done by women. The final LINING AND FINISHING, was often carried out by outworker women in their own homes. My Dad could carry out all of these roles and did make me a wonderful pair of fur lined fur gloves when I was little - but it was more than unusual for coats to be made in this way.

For a time my mother was taught by my Dad to do the finishing and lining (at home), and I can well remember having to stand on chairs as a little girls so that she be sure everything was hanging properly when the linings were put in.

Regarding the circumcision - provided that they baby is healthy it is often carried out by a Moyle at home. Women (including the Mother) are usually sent to another room. Babies lips are usually smeared with something like honey (back then, it would have been some sweet wine), and whilst they are licking this off, the action is carried out. Most babies are absolutely fine with it, and will happily take a feed and go to sleep afterwards. Personally, I think that it is about time this was stopped - unnecessary physical mutilation at such a young age must be against medical code of practice.

By the late 60's only very few new mothers breast-fed. This was very much the time of bottle feeding. I did get mastitus on one breast when I was feeding my twins. I was determined to carry one and, as an NCT B.feeding counsellor and a fourth time Mum, I knew what I was doing - but the pain was incredible - I can remember at the time describing it as being like a red hot knive being used. We did get through it eventually but anti-biotics gave me thrush and both babies oral thrush!!

Your post was really interesting Franbern. Thanks for sharing.

Although my mother lived opposite the Woolwich Arsenal I was born in Bath ( 1946) the reason being that all the hospitals were full.
I went through all my infant and junior school with children who were born in that same hospital in Bath.

Fascinating, Franbern! Thank you. I couldn’t help thinking that in 1967, fur was only going to be acceptable for a few more years, before society turned against it.

Meryl, there must have been more than a few babies born at the roadside on the way to Bath! The roads in the 1940’s must have been pretty grim, I can’t imagine doing that journey while in labour.

Oh gosh Sparklefizz that was bad! At least mine was just five minutes away. I should add it was my own baby.

Very interesting post Franbern.

I was born at home during WW2 - came with such speed I was there before the midwife! One day Mum did leave me in the pram outside a shop and I was gone when she came out - an onlooker told her a woman had taken me into Woolworths which was next door. Seems she rushed in and followed the noise of my cries and grabbed me back - I cried with anyone but my mother!
1963 I had DD in Queen Charlotte’s hospital (10 day stay) and 1967 DS at home. I saw the same two midwives every time at the clinic and one of them came to deliver the baby. The GP also came to check me over. It was nice having DS at home as DD was three and a bit and spent much time with me in bed - was not allowed to get up fully for the ten days - every day a visit from a midwife.

I thought that Trixies shock at finding baby outside was because she was worried about the mother. She knew that she was having problems and was concerned for her mental health. Mother wasn't just putting baby outside for fresh air, she just couldn't bear the sound of the baby crying for milk when she wasn't able to feed it successfully due to mastitis.

Back in 60's and 70's we all left our prams with our babies outside of shops. Prams, on the whole, were far too big and difficult to get into shops. Most of us, I am sure, at least once, with our first babies, forgot about them. I did not have a hard-bodied pram, but a soft bodied one (1969), the top could be lifted off the very well sprung base so I could put into the back of my car. Lasted through many babies (my own and fostered), and my older children fondly remember it.

I had a pram bag, than fitted on the front of this pram. Came out of a shop with this in my hands, and it was only when I was walking along, trying to fit it on a non-existent pram in front of me, did I realise I had left that, and baby at that shop.

In 1973, there was a very sad kidnapping of a young baby not far from where I lived, resulting in the police issuing warnings that we should NOT leave prams and babies unaccompanied. I had two small children plus the latest, at the time. A visit to my local library I used a very small pushchair for this youngest so that I could take the other two there. Library staff told me I was not permitted to bring in pushchair. At the same time, they did permit older people with their wheeled shopping baskets in there (I did ask if shopping was more important than babies). They threatened to call the police when I insisted of bringing in this pushchair, and I told them to do so and I would also contact the local paper. I did this when I returned home, and it made their front pages and the council changed the policy for that library very quickly.

I always put babies (my own and fostered), into that pram into my front garden (unless it was pouring with rain), after they had been morning bathed and fed. The fresh air was considered so important - nobody ever questioned it.

Wow! Franbern that is an amazing story - all of them. You were a power-house. Good on yer.
I was much more timid and just accepted my lot.
I remember feeding my baby in the lobby of the Ladies loo in a dept store where there was a chair. No pram but sling or back pack. A few ladies walking past looked sympathetic.
No baby changing facilities either. You just had to have a lap (a skirt was useful) to spread out the baby and the terry nappy, remove the dirty one and take it home with you. You got quite adept.

I know it was last weeks episode, but did anyone else get really annoyed at one of the nuns washing dogshit off her shoe in the kitchen sink!
No trained nurse would ever do such a thing.
Watching her do that was more shocking and disgusting than the foot coming off.
I wonder if some of the writers are really young (it's something I might have done when was younger) )

Luckygirl3

*Why was Trixie so shocked at Yvonne leaving Melanie outside in her pram?* I thought that too. I was a social worker in Birmingham at a bout that time and when home visiting it was standard practice for babies to be outside in their prams.

I was also - at the risk of getting shouted down - quite surprised at the calm acceptance of baby boy mutilation.

This is why they need to use older writers.
People who actually would know that it was quite normal for mothers to leave babies outside in their prams during this time.

Suedonim yes, the fur trade (although they did not know it then), was going to die. My Dad, fortunately reached retirement age early in the 1970's after more than fifty years in the trade. Mainly based in the North East of London, it did - for some reason - have a very high number of jewish workers and factory owners. Dad was one of workers. He did do various other part-time job in those retirement years, but it was after that time that the repulsion against wearing animal skins really got underway.

Between 1969 and 1982, I cared for something like forty babies, my own (mainly breastfed), fostered, obviously bottlefed. All wore terry towel nappies. Feel that I am pretty much an expert on mores, habits, etc of that time.,

Circumcision, at that time, was something that many medical people thought a good idea. So, no way at that time would anyone have raised any object. One of the Leading Consultant at the Elizabeth Garrett Hospital for Women encouraged this to be carried out on male babies. One of my Health Visitors always said that she had never she was confident that it had great health benefits both for the man and also for his future sexual partners.
Think it is only in very recent years, that we have gone before these age-old religious beliefs and thought about as mutilation.

I love seeing the beautiful "proper" prams, not the silly tiny little things they have nowadays. I had a Silver Cross coach built pram for my first 3, then for babies 4 and 5 I had a Pedigree, lighter weight plastic one, but still a decent size. I had my first 3 in hospital, the last 2 at home, and much preferred being at home, although I think that mothers are sent home far too early now, less than 24 hours in some cases. Back in the day, we were kept in for 10 days with a first baby, and 3 days for following babies.

I had my two children in 1969 and 1972 and would leave both in prams in the garden, also outside shops, everyone did.
Where I live it was a custom to give a newborn baby a silver coin as it was supposed to give them luck with money.My two sons, and other babies, were great collectors of these coins, if a pram with a newborn baby was seen outside a shop, complete strangers would drop coins in it.Imagine that going on now.

Looks like Phyllis and Trixie are gone for the rest of the series

Yes Beswitched it looks like it.

Gripe tonight was that the maternity clothes were too tight.
Back then people wore tents or at least loose clothes. It was years before showing your bump off became a "thing"

I wonder will either of them come back? They might have Trixie getting engaged in the Christmas special, and Lucille discovering she's pregnant again.

Beswitched

Looks like Phyllis and Trixie are gone for the rest of the series

Can someone please fill me in on where Phyllis is off to? I left the room for a few moments and missed that bit, just saw her leaving in the taxi at the end!

Grammaretto

Yes Beswitched it looks like it.

Gripe tonight was that the maternity clothes were too tight.
Back then people wore tents or at least loose clothes. It was years before showing your bump off became a "thing"

Back then people wore tents or at least loose clothes
And were often hand-made.

Those Mothercare pinafore dresses! (actually I made some myself) and thought I was quite trendy wearing stretchy expanding trousers with a smock top ?

It was difficult to watch Lucille but at least she got the care she needed. Not everyone did.

granfromafar. Phyllis is going on a 6 week coach trip she saw advertised in the paper, it goes to Bruges, Paris, other destinations then to Spain.