Call the midwife : the casebook.

Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Turner in the television series 'Call the Midwife' talks on set on the last day of filming the present series. He talks to some of the 'real' people behind the series with previews of the programmes. The first series was based on Jennifer Worth's memoirs. McGann meets Antonia Bruce who trained briefly with Jennifer. She describes how midwifery has changed. McGann talks to Antonia about her final assessed work which included twelve case studies of new births. She also has a writing annual with dedications from her former colleagues including nuns and Jennifer. Terri Coates knew Worth and is the consultant midwife to the series overseeing the clinical accuracy of the programme. Coates wrote an article for her Masters about the lack of visibility of midwives in literature; Worth got in touch and sent her memoirs to Coates who then went on to became Worth's editor. The first book was published in 2002. Pippa Harris, Executive Producer, identified potential for television of the book. Heidi Thomas screen wrote the books for television, working with Worth for the original adaptation. With the success of the first series, she realised she would need to gather more material for future programmes. McGann visits the John Rylands' library in Manchester to meet Dr Janette Allotey, a childbirth historian; they study a Mediaeval work on the subject. Another example is a book published by Jane Sharp in 1671; she was an experienced midwife. The book contains two foldout anatomical plates. McGann returns to Liverpool where he was born; he was one of five children. He describes his own upbringing. Photographer Nick Hedges documented life in the 1960s during the housing crisis when life was hard in the traditional industrial cities. There was a significant problem with multi-occupier person dwellings and sometimes a family lived in just one room. Eleanor Stewart was a midwife and former nun. She describes the resilience of families and their poor living conditions. Aneuira Thomas was the first baby born under the new NHS; she recounts the story of her birth as told by her mother. She was named after Aneurin Bevan. Footage and newspaper articles of the time describe the opposition from the British Medical Association followed by the creation of NHS. Through the series, Thomas has reflected the changing face of the East End and its immigrant communities. Thomas talks about the attention to detail aided by the memories of Worth and research by Coates. McGann and Coates demonstrate one of the show's prosthetic dolls. McGann and Coates discuss the evolution in monitoring technology. The advent of the pill meant that women could space their children; launched in Birmingham (with some footage), this becomes a story in the new series. Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds talks about how her mother took the drug thalidomide and then gave birth to Rosaleen who was born with foreshortened arms and legs. Her mother was young and had terrible morning sickness so was prescribed the drug. Dr Valerie Jones recalls attending to Rosaleen's mother at birth and the concerns about her disability, allayed by the strong bond between mother and baby. Thomas describes the focus on a story about having a disabled child during this time as she grew up with a disabled brother. Further memories are contributed from a midwife who anxiously collected Distavil from patients after the association was made between Distavil and thalidomide after an Australian doctor, William McBride wrote a letter to The Lancet.