Every season, GBH Drama prepares to bring you coverage of the latest and greatest in British dramas. This month, we return to Poplar for the twelfth season of Call The Midwife. With complex medical cases, heartwarming found family, and more births and deaths than we can count, this series is sure to make you laugh and cry (probably more of the latter, if we're being honest). GBH Drama contributor Amanda-Rae Prescott is here to recap the magic as it happens.
This week on Call the Midwife, Nonnatus House has to quickly contain a contagious bacterial infection and also contain the reach of the Board of Health into their affairs. All of this activity makes this a less-than-fun visit home for Timothy and Reggie. Let’s discuss what happens.
Home From School
Timothy is back in Poplar after becoming the salutatorian of his year at college. We love to see it! Reggie is also back for a visit. Of course, the Turners and Buckles put the youths to work. Timothy hands out tea to the maternity home patients and subs at the reception desk for Miss Higgins. Reggie is cleaning up the comics and doing odd jobs around the store.
Reggie, however, doesn’t seem entirely excited to be home. First off, he cancels a boys night out with Cyril and Fred at the dominoes table. We see a piece of his hair falling out. He visits his mother’s grave because he believes that he may be dying as well; she died after a period of extended fatigue. Violet doesn’t realize his behavior means something may be medically wrong so she calls Reggie “lazy” within earshot. He walks out in disappointment. Cyril convinces him to let Dr. Turner examine him. What will the result be?
Contagion
Nancy is assigned to Mrs. Khatri who has two little girls and is expecting a third baby. She’s clearly beginning labor, so Nancy walks her to the maternity home. Trixie takes Mrs. Khatri in as her water breaks. Her little girl is born very quickly and they joke about baby’s impatience. Unfortunately, Mrs. Khatri is still experiencing pain after the delivery. Trixie examines and realizes that there is a second heartbeat. She calls for Shelagh to assist since the second baby is in the breech position. Mrs. Khatri was not expecting twins but she is happy to welcome a second baby girl. Her husband, however, is struggling to come up with names since he believed the baby was going to be a boy. The tension between the Khatris grows.
Meanwhile, in the maternity home, Mrs. Perreira and Mrs. Jameson have also given birth. Mrs. Wrigley’s kids stop by to visit their new baby brother. Shortly after the visit, Khatri Baby B develops a low temperature, diarrhea, and signs of dehydration. One by one all of the mothers and babies in the maternity home fall ill. Dr. Turner acts quickly to close the maternity home and the clinic to outsiders. Trixie, Timothy, and Shelagh are now sealed in until the infection runs its course. Matthew delivers medical supplies from a safe distance. Sister Monica Joan volunteers to go to the maternity home despite the risk of catching the disease. It’s a good thing Sister Monica Joan is there, because she sees that Shelagh is fighting the infection. Shelagh goes home only for her and all of the Turner kids to end up sick. What is causing this illness?
Very Slow Progress
Alongside the mystery infection in the maternity home, Mrs. Lucas is expecting her first child. She’s ready to embrace modern methods and this includes giving birth at St. Cuthberts. Phyllis is assigned to her case, but Mrs. Lucas doubts Phyllis because of her age. Mrs. Lucas’ first child was born a month early so she’s hoping this baby arrives soon because she’s in the middle of packing up to move. This baby, unfortunately, is on another schedule.
Bureaucratic Hypocrisy
Phyllis, Dr. Turner, and Shelagh go to a demonstration on a new piece of birthing technology: the Ventouse. The device looks like a portable vacuum but is designed to replace forceps in the delivery room. Phyllis asks the demo leader Mr. Walsh if the device has been tested for at-home births. He says those are very old-fashioned and Phyllis is a bit snippy with him in return. As it is Mrs. Lucas is doubting her skills due to her age, and she doesn’t need yet another doubter. He ends up questioning why she’s working past retirement age.
Mr. Walsh unfortunately is in a position to cause trouble for Phyllis, because he sits on the London Board of Medicine. He sends a letter later on telling her the Board is going to reevaluate her ability to work. She feels like she will be bereft if she’s forced to retire. Another member of the Board of Health, Dr. Threapwood, barges into Nonnatus House demanding answers about the way Dr. Turner handled the maternity home illnesses. He thinks Dr. Turner acted independently of the Board, while Dr. Turner argues that the situation couldn’t wait for bureaucracy.
Sister Monica Joan also insists on accompanying Phyllis at least as far as the door of the meeting. At the meeting, Walsh and the other Nigels bring up that Phyllis hasn’t attended any refresher training. Phyllis argues that she’s still competent enough to continue working past retirement. Sister Monica Joan interrupts the proceedings to argue that not only is she working way past retirement because of her vows, but also that the whole Board of Health is older than Phyllis. This sick burn stuns the Nigels into admitting Phyllis can still work as a nurse. She agrees to go to the mandated refresher training as improvement is always a good thing.
Scared Of Change
Phyllis makes a return visit to Mrs. Lucas, who responds that the midwife has come to mock her. It turns out that the baby is a month late and Mrs. Lucas still hasn’t fully moved out. Phyllis brought her iron pills, not a mean attitude. Later on, the baby finally shows signs of movement, and Phyllis is ready to help. Mrs. Lucas realizes a hospital birth isn’t in the cards. Mr. Lucas is impatient about the birth process and Phyllis tells him to keep packing up the glassware while she handles the labor. The baby’s shoulder ends up being caught on Mrs. Lucas’ pelvic bone. Phyllis calls the ambulance and tells Mrs. Lucas not to push, but she doesn’t listen. Phyllis’ hand is hurt as she tries to manually adjust the baby. Finally, a very big baby boy is born but he takes a while to cry. Mrs. Lucas still ends up going to the hospital because she is bleeding too much. She finally apologizes to Phyllis because she depended on Phyllis to get her through the birth.
Really, Really, Tired
As promised, Cyril accompanies Reggie to his appointment. Dr. Turner asks Reggie several questions about how he’s been feeling. He describes the fatigue, a tingling in his hands, and his hair falling out. Dr. Turner recommends a blood test after the basic physical examination, and he explains that Reggie’s symptoms plus the blood test confirm he has hypothyroidism which means an underactive thyroid. They’re not the same symptoms as hyperthyroidism which is more common. He explains that some people with Downs Syndrome also have hypothyroidism. There isn’t a cure for hypothyroidism but all Reggie needs to feel better is to take 1 pill a day for life. Violet apologizes after the diagnosis because she realized that she knew something was wrong but she jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Contagion Part Two
Khatri Baby B continues to have diarrhea and lose weight. Sister Monica Joan notices she’s turning blue which means they must call the ambulance. Mr. Khatri arrives at the maternity home just as she’s being loaded into the ambulance. His tone is different, realizing that his wife and kids are in possible danger of death. The quarantine is becoming a strain on everyone, both the patients and the staff. We see Trixie calling Matthew looking for support. He reminds her that their honeymoon in November will be epic.
Dr. Turner conducts lab testing and concludes that the gastroenteritis outbreak was caused by E. coli infection. Mrs. Wrigley or her family was the source of the outbreak — it turns out they were all sick. Mr. Khatri visits Baby B in the hospital and tells Mrs. Khatri from the window that she opened her eyes to look at him. He tells her he loves the baby! Aww!
Everyone survives the E. coli outbreak, even Baby B. The moms are reunited with their families and the maternity home and clinic is completely disinfected. Khatri Baby B and Baby A are named Asha and Shakura which mean hope and gratitude. The younger Turners are splashing around in the little wading pool while Timothy attempts to tan. Trixie is reunited with Matthew and Jonty who clearly missed her. Even Reggie is back to his usual self joking around with Cyril and Fred.
The only one who isn’t happy about the situation is Mr. Threapwood. What does the Board of Health have in store for Nonnatus House? We’ll find out next week on Call The Midwife.
