helenA

British accents are hard to understand. In the past , sometimes I would end up rewinding the same scene to hear the line again, I would rewind it three times and still don’t understand what was said. That’s why I learnt to on the subtitles in the PBS video , just to fully understand what they are saying . I forgot what that lady said , I’d have to rematch the scene with subtitles. A i suggest you do the same :) For example , last season Shelagh was delivering a baby to this mother who had an extreme fear of childbirth due to previous traumatic forceps delivery in hospital . The second birth was much calmer taking place at home . The mother was still anxious and Shealgh encouraged her by saying “You’re doing beautifully , with your next breath your baby will be born into this fine new day !” When I first watched that episode on TV with no subtitles I thought she said “ Fine new bed “ instead of “ Fine new day” I was so confused on why she said fine new bed....the next time I watched it on Netflix I finally realized...Ohhh “ Fine new day! not Fine new bed ! That makes more sense now .

I watched the UK version in January and rewatched it again today. I'm glad that I rewatched the video with subtitles because the London British accent gives me a headache and without subtitles I can rewind the same sentence three times and still don't understand what they are saying. For example, I didn't know that the teen girl's name was Josie, until I rewatched it. When her name was mentioned on screen, it sounded like Dorothy instead of Josie. I have a question...where is baby Teddy? Remember that he was born in the last season's finale. Angela's birthday with all the cute kids was great to see amidst the sadness in the episode, but it is so strange that baby Teddy's birthday doesn't even get a mention. Also, with both parents and older brother looking after the party, who is looking after him? Babies need round the clock care, we can only assume that he's taking a nap or at daycare. Also an Easter Egg that I picked up was the call to Nonnatus House by Mr.Chen which Sister Julienne answered and subsequently attended to. That family; if they are talking about the same Chen family , was seen in season 6. Neither the birth nor the former guest stars appeared in this episode, they just got a shout out. If anyone recalls from last season, the Chen family was the one who ran a laundry business, and the business that the maternity home relies on to wash its sheets etc. That was the first Chinese family featured on Call the Midwife. That family was the one where the Liverpool with a scouse accent mom was half Chinese and whose mother in law made her sit the month. The mother in law cranked the furnace up in the middle of the summer and refused to open the windows, as per monthly confinement tradition. As a result, the mother in law unknowingly contributed to carbon monoxide poisoning that almost took the baby's life. When their family name was mentioned again in this episode, we call only assume that their daughter Lin ( that was their daughter's name) is going to be a big sister. On the show, 99% of the guest stars for each episode are forgotten about when the episode ended. The only family that we did get two decent follow up episodes about was baby Susan's family from seasons 5 and 6. Well at least a shout out means that they haven't been forgotten. Also, hearing that family's name is also bittersweet as Barbara was the midwife who delivered baby Lin last season . Now they supposedly have a new addition, but their midwife from a year ago had passed away. Similarly, the mention of Reggie's mom Ivy and the visits to her graveside also caused me great sadness. Again recalling past episodes, Ivy collapsed from a heart attack at church last season and Barbara was the one who immediately went to her aid. Unfortunately there was nothing that Barbara could have done for Ivy as the attack came on too suddenly. Barbara felt for a pulse, found none, and pronounced Ivy dead with a grim look on her face. Now these two are reunited under the ground and buried in the same place, it's heartbreaking.

yeah the baby story is the one that frustrates me. wouldn’t he be killed after being in the bag for a good half hour? Hello suffocation ?

I enjoyed this xmas special overall but the “ miracle” baby coming back to life, that was really inaccurate . Let’s analyze the situation again ... 1) Baby was unresponsive and not crying and Val did everything she could to resuscitate him, but I think that his “ death” was declared to soon . Why didn’t neither Val nor Trixie ever considered having a listen to his heart and lungs with a stethoscope ? This way they can determine for sure if he is dead or alive ? If they don’t have a sthethoscope , then I know it’s hard given the weather conditions ) but bundle him up and rush him to either A) Nonnatus House where at least one other midwife would be home and they have the equipment they need to check him out . B) The maternity home where Dr. Turner and one of the midwives is working. C) The hospital All these places have ppl who can confirm that he is indeed alive . 2) Even if the baby was alive at birth , he would have suffocated within seconds of being placed inside the medical bag after being declared “ dead “. Therefore, it is scientifically impossible for him to have his first cry about half hour after he was placed in the bag. Valerie almost reached Nonnatus House by the time the baby cried, in real life he would certainly have died by that time . 3) I know the weather conditions are bad and the whole community is out of power but the Maternity Home seems to have adequate power and warmth. This being said, why wasn’t the poor woman who lived in an unheated and cramped Caravan offered a hospital or maternity home birth ? I know everyone wants to give birth at home, but all homes need to be inspected ( as they were strict on doing in the early seasons of this show ) and their caravan doesn’t pass the test . As I said before, if only she has given birth in a medically adaquate place, non of this BS might have happened . Is it just me or does anyone else think that this story is absolute BS. I to,d this to my friend who doesn’t watch CTM and even she thinks this is BS.