Thursday 9 June 2016

Worth, Jennifer "Call the Midwife"


Worth, Jennifer "Call the Midwife: a true story of the East End in the 1950s" - 2002

I don't think I would have picked up this book if it hadn't been for a suggestion in the book club. And before you start wondering: no, I haven't seen the series.

The nice part of the book, it wasn't anything close to chick lit. There was a lot about the change of medical care given to mothers and children before and after birth from the war until today, a lot of it I could understand well since I have given birth twice myself. And even if you're not from the UK and might not relate from the changes the NHS (National Health Service) made at the time, I think one can still relate to it.

It was nice to read the stories written by a real midwife herself, how she got into the job and how the conditions were at the time. She gives a lot of cases as examples and we get to meet everyone she worked with, both the other midwives, the nuns and her patients and their families. Some interesting cases, as well, maybe especially since she worked in quite a poor area of London but I guess there are always stories to be told about the beginning of any life.

So, yes, quite a nice read. I might even want to watch the television series.

We discussed this in our book club in July 2016.

From the back cover:

"Life in London's East End in the 1950s was tough. The brothels of Cable Street, the Kray brothers and gang warfare, the meths drinkers in the bombsites - this was the world Jennifer Worth entered when she became a midwife at the age of twenty-two. Babies were born in slum conditions, often with no running water. Funny, disturbing and moving, Call the Midwife brings to life a world that has now changed beyond measure."

6 comments:

  1. This one has been on my Amazon Wish list for a while. Probably won't watch the series, though I hear it's quite good, my husband hates things like that.

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    1. Well, I said I might, there are so many good series out and I don't know how much my hubby would like this. But I did enjoy the book.

      Happy Weekend,
      Marianne

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  2. As a midwife having worked in the NHS for a number of years there is still a great deal of improvement to be made. The way some women give birth in so called modern times is nothing short of barbaric. I hate the series I'm sure the book is better though.

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    1. I am sure there is always room for improvement. I had my second son in England and loved the way I was treated. I couldn't complain about the birth of my first son in Germany, either, but I felt everything was a lot more natural in England. And I loved the fact that I could go home the same day. ;)

      Sorry you hate the series, as I said, I haven't seen it. Maybe you would like to tell me what is so awful about it? I'd really like to know. Not that I will have another child but it's always good to hear from someone who knows facts firsthand.

      In any case, I hope you have a nice weekend,
      Marianne

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  3. Since I don't watch TV I hadn't even heard of the series, but the books sounds great! On the list it goes. Thanks for your review.

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    1. In 99.99999% of times, the book is better anyway. ;)

      Happy reading,
      Marianne

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