S14.E03: Episode 3

[chitowngirl]

Rosalind requires her skills as a midwife when a disabled baby is delivered; a gas explosion in an old tenement building shocks the community; Sister Julienne calls on Trixie's managerial skills when she is summoned to a meeting with Dr Threapwood.
 

Airdate April 13, 2025 on PBS. Available now on Passport.

Edited March 28 by chitowngirl

[txhorns79]

Loved Executive Manager Trixie taking on the board, and am glad we finally seem to be done with the "Nonnatus House might be shut down!" storylines. 

I just couldn't with the spina bifida parents.  I get that having a child with a birth defect can be terrifying.  You don't know what could happen and the challenge can feel overwhelming.  That their first move was to abandon the kid was just too much for me.  In a way, it might be a blessing, if only because that baby deserves parents and/or a guardian who will love her. 

[jah1986]

The parents of the disabled baby were infuriating. They "needed" a perfect, "normal" child. At least they seemed to feel some guilt. And on some level I was glad the show didn't have them have a sudden change of heart but let the baby be sent to an orphanage because it's realistic. Some people are just horrible. I kept remembering earlier seasons with baby Susan (?) a victim of Thalidomide, who's father had a change of heart at the orphanage. These parents were not them.

Glad those other children didn't die in the explosion, or something else terrible because mom had to leave them alone. Alf did the right thing in the end.

Please leave Nonnatus House alone for the rest of the season. Trixie was awesome!

[Straycat80]

This episode was heartbreaking! Poor baby June with the hard hearted parents. She wasn’t  perfect enough for them but at least the nuns cared for her and loved her. I hope she was adopted by a loving family. 

I’m glad no one was hurt in the fire and the family and older man had a happy ending. 
 

 

[caitmcg]

The spina bifida couple: "We couldn't possibly give her the care she needs! No, we wouldn't accept any help!" By all appearances, they weren't lacking in material resources, just moral perspective.

In other news, the show still loves to have exigent circumstances act as an instant cure for racial bigotry.

[Badger]

I worked with a man with spina bifida who used a wheelchair.  He was quite overweight, and he told us his doctor admonished him that his weight was shortening his life.  He told him that the doctor who delivered him told his parents to leave him in the hospital because he'd be dead within a year.  He pointed out that even if he dropped dead right then, he had lived more than 40 years longer than anyone predicted.

[MissLucas]

I appreciate the spina bifida plot not having a 'happy end'. A touch of harsh realism is needed from time to time. As @Badger's post shows, even within medical circles spina bifida babies were not given much chances.  And back then it was often thought it better for the parents to just move on. We saw that very mindset a couple of seasons earlier when Sister Julienne found that baby that was left to die in a maintenance room.

I'm also not judging the parents. Not everybody is cut out for taking care of a disabled child - that's what happens when we see horrible stories of abuse and neglect of special needs kids in the news. Yes, they had the material resources for this which makes it harder to accept their decision. I admire people who shoulder that burden but the harsh reality is that not everyone can and there are many reasons why. That said it's possible that the parents will have a change of heart further down the road. 

Speaking of harsh realities - Trixie handling that misogynistic committee was great. They came prepared for 'typically' female appeals to emotions and got slapped down with facts, numbers, and the might of the power suit!