It’s Thursday, and I’m back with more thoughts! This week, I thought I’d look again at the subject of fathers at births, inspired by the recent CtM FB post about fathers. More thoughts follow:
I’m planning this to be the first of two posts about fathers in CtM. Next week, I’m hoping to write about memorable fathers who weren’t at their children’s births, but this week I’m starting off with a topic I’ve written about before (and collaborated on some posts with @mg-bsl381 about). Still, I’m covering it again because a) there was another father at a birth in s7 and b) as the show continues into the 1960s, I’m assuming there will be even more of these situations as the stigma about fathers attending births becomes lessened and their participation becomes more encouraged, eventually leading to the practice becoming much more common in the 1970s and becoming the norm by the 1980s.
On the show, though, fathers in delivery rooms has been treated as a “special circumstance” for the most part, even though it happened in the very first episode. Still, even though Len Warren was there for his son’s birth (and, apparently, for the births of all or at least most of his children), it was treated on the show as highly unusual, like the Warrens themselves. The other times it’s happened on the show until series 7, it was presented as part of a unique situation for the couple--Alan Bridges (CS 2013) is there not only to support his wife Yvonne, but as a way of helping him with his emotional trauma from the war. Kevin Dillen (4x08) is there because his wife June is deaf and he’s serving as her sign language interpreter as well as being her husband. Lots of fans had assumed Patrick Turner (6x08) would be there because he was the doctor as well as Shelagh’s husband, but in the episode it happened because, in the midst of labor pains, Shelagh decided that she needed him there. Because of the unique relationship of the Turners to Nonnatus, and Sister Julienne’s being the midwife, there was no objection.
Now, as to the most recent “father at the birth situation” this was treated a little differently. It’s a “unique circumstance” in one sense (in that the baby ended up being born in the back of a van, and Allan had to help because nobody else was there), but in another sense it’s not, since the idea of Allan’s being there was brought up before the actual birth as part of an otherwise “typical” pregnancy. It was presented as a part of Sister Winifred’s efforts to get fathers more involved in their wives’ pregnancies, reflecting the trend that would continue to grow later into the decade. Allan did initially balk at the idea of being there, but Janet was clear that she wanted him there well before the birth actually happened. I see this as another step in the process of treating fathers at the birth as less of a novelty. I’m fully expecting more of these to happen in s8 and beyond, and I won’t be surprised if the next one is treated as even more “normal”--meaning planned in advance as well as being a relatively typical birth without any last-minute dramatic situations or revelations.
I’m also wondering what the new nuns will think about this. So far, the main objector to fathers at births was Sister Evangelina, and one of the idea’s greatest proponents has been Sister Winifred. It could be seen as an age thing, but Sister Julienne hasn’t been nearly as opposed to it as Sister E was, and she’s supported it in several cases (most notably with the Turners, as she was the midwife). I see her as being a little reluctant in terms of making it a general practice, but (obviously) not entirely against the idea, and the more it happens, I think the more supportive she will probably become. So, I’m guessing as this trend continues, it will be reflected not just in the nures’ attitudes, but also in the nuns’, and I won’t be surprised if the new nuns are more of Sister Winifred’s mindset on this issue. I guess we’ll have to wait and see on that.
That’s all for this week. Next week, more Thursday Thoughts!
