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(BELL CHIMING)
(FOGHORN)
MATURE JENNY: I used to think that night was a time for women.
All day, the docks were raucous with the lives of men.
Lightermen and stevedores, dockers and pilots,
the sailors and the drivers of the trains.
In the smallest hours, only the rivers voice was heard.
Only women were awake.
-(KETTLE WHISTLES) -Men slept.
Mostly.
(WOMAN SCREAMS AND CRIES)
(WOMAN SCREAMS)
Are you sure you're a midwife? You dont half look young.
Dont worry, Ingrid. Youre quite safe.
(INGRID GROANS AND SOBS)
I'll kill him!
I'll bloody kill him when I'm done!
(SCREAMS AND CRIES)
Short breaths.
(GASPING)
There.
She wouldnt kill him. No mother ever did.
She would only curse his name,
and say there'd never be a next time.
-(BABY CRYING) -And she would mean it.
And there always was.
# O God, make speed to save us
# O Lord make haste to help us
# Glory be to the Father and to the Son
# And to the Holy Ghost
# As it was in the beginning Is now, and ever shall be
# World without end, amen
# Praise ye the Lord
# The Lord's name be praised
# Have mercy upon me O God
# After Thy great goodness
# According to the multitude of Thy mercies
# Do away mine offences
# Wash me throughly from my wickedness
Zakir, I'm with someone.
# And cleanse me from my sin #
(LOW CHATTER)
Take him to the Crystal Room.
(BIRDSONG OUTSIDE)
Oh, she's a bit of all right.
I'm going to call her Dawn.
It's a beautiful name.
-Ah, hug, hug. -(BABY GURGLES)
-That's it, nicely. Good girl. -(BABY CRIES)
-Baby. -Baby, yeah.
(COINS CLINK)
Don't short-change me.
It's eight bob if I bring you inside.
(FOOTSTEPS)
Thought he'd dropped off on the job.
Tell you what, some of them lascars
they don't half rub off on you.
Mary! You've got one in the oven.
Is it any wonder?
There's things you can do, Mare.
Things you'll have to do.
And what if I won't?
You can't keep it. They won't let you.
(FOGHORN)
MATURE JENNY: I had entered a house in the dead of night,
and emerged into sunshine, leaving a new life behind,
and I wouldn't have changed my job for all the world.
Oh, hello, Jenny! Up all night again?
Mrs B kept you a kipper.
I'd be quick, if I were you, or Fred will have it.
I heard that, and I hate kippers.
I tried smoking 'em once. It's a mugs game.
Flat tyre.
Three advance delivery packs,
one booking-in and two final home visits.
Nurse Lee! How is Mrs Mason?
A little girl, Sister. No complications.
Good. You'll have to see to
Sister Bernadette's list later.
She's been seconded to the hospital today.
(PHONE RINGING)
Nonnatus House. Midwife speaking.
Short-staffed again!
The new trainee is on her way.
I can't deny I'm looking forward to an extra pair of hands.
Doreen Riley. She's the twins case in Quebec Street.
We don't need an extra pair of hands. We need an octopus.
When I get back from Mrs Riley,
I'll contact the aquarium!
In the meantime, the new girls details are on here.
(BELL CHIMES)
Ah! Camilla Fortescue-Cholmeley-Browne?
-Yes. -Come in.
I generally answer to Chummy. My pa used to say,
"Long dogs need short names."
Mmm. Follow me. And mind your head.
I understand you qualified by a whisker,
Nurse Fortescue-Cholmeley-Browne.
I did pass. It was a bit of a scrape.
Before that I was nursing for five years, and, well...
Come on, inside.
Do you need me to go through this piece by piece?
No, not remotely. What's that?
-It's an enema nozzle. -It's made of glass.
Do you break things?
No.
And are all your dresses pink?
I do have another, in eau de nil.
I bet you look a picture in that too.
Nurse Lee!
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Uniforms.
Standard pale blue. Two.
I found some in the airing cupboard.
All girls together. That's what we used to say at school.
I could never bear all that fussing and flapping
under dressing capes. (LAUGHS)
I've always been a longshanks.
Even as a child in India,
I was always taller than my brothers.
Poor old Mater, she used to be in tears,
but my ayah just sewed flounces
at the bottom of my frocks.
It would look a bit rum
round the hem of a nurse's outfit.
Oh, I can't move my arms.
Those are the biggest size.
Oh, well. Nil desperandum.
The rotating handle is delicately mechanised.
The cogs will be deranged if it's pounded out of rhythm.
Oh, don't worry,
I've got the measure of this little warhorse.
I was at the Royal School of Needlework
before I turned to nursing.
Have you thought of French knots,
to make that jolly fellow's hair?
I intend to furnish it with a beret.
The scalp will not be visible to view.
Oh.
(MUSIC PLAYING FAINTLY)
(STAIR CREAKS)
(MUFFLED CONVERSATION)
(DOOR CREAKS)
I wish I could make my own patterns.
I'd save a bomb on clothes.
Yes. I've loved clothes ever since the New Look.
(GASPS) Oh! I've chopped Princess Margaret's head off.
I was cutting out the sleeve.
She'll be giving me one of her hard cold stares.
I'm sure she'll forgive you. I think she looks fun.
Oh, she's frightfully vivacious when she's had a gin and it.
Oh, not that I know her well.
No, I haven't really seen her since Pa's investiture.
-Investiture? -Yes, he was just...
Well, he was knighted for, uh, services to the viceroy.
I'd keep that from Sister Evangelina.
Why?
Oh, well, by all accounts,
she grew up drinking out of jam jars.
It's made her a bit of an inverted snob.
-(DOOR OPENS) -FRED: Right, young madam.
Bicycles.
I've got a very nice Rival of Norwich,
with a lightweight frame.
Or a Rover Imperial which I reckon is come off the ark.
The choice is yours.
Oh, I dont need a bicycle. Thanks awfully.
Shanks' pony will suffice for me.
Darling, you won't last five minutes on shanks' pony.
We cover eight square miles.
You can ride a bike?
I can ride a horse.
That can't be so very different, surely?
The thing you have to remember,
is that once somebody's learned to ride a bicycle,
-they never, ever forget. -Absolutely.
So, you're only going to have to do this once.
It's like learning to smoke or having your ears pierced.
Quite.
-Ready? -Oh! Oh, gosh, um...
-Buckle down. -Uh... Oh.
-All right. -Yes, feet on.
-And go. -Oh, um...
Keep going.
You want to tie her to our go-kart?
-You want to button your lip. -I'm sure he means well.
(LAUGHTER)
-Feet. -What?
-Feet. -Yes.
Feet! Work your feet, Chummy.
-Feet. -Yes. Oh!
Down. Pedal up, pedal down.
-Oh, no! Sorry. Sorry. -(BIKE BELL RINGS)
It's just this alternate body parts business.
Feet, you know, doing different things.
One fears there is something in her that is misaligned.
One suspects a planetary influence.
CHILDREN: Pedal up! Pedal down!
The East End'll eat her for breakfast.
(TRAIN WHISTLE)
Miss? Could you change a five-pound note for me?
A five-pound note? No, I'm sorry. I can't.
What about in that cafe over there?
I daren't. They'll think I stole it.
Would you go in and change it for me?
I'm sorry.
Please! I've not eaten today.
Nor yesterday.
Well, I suppose we could go in together.
We could get you something to eat.
I could pay using the banknote,
so if anyone sees they'll think it's mine.
First dinner I ever had in England was like this.
That pie was in silver paper too.
It was in the transport cafe. That's near Liverpool.
You're not from Liverpool, though?
County Mayo.
Then Dublin, after Dadda died.
That was where our luck ran out.
And Mam fell in love with the drink.
I don't like it when people pry.
I shouldn't pry myself. I'm sorry.
She'll be on the cold tea and meths by now.
She used to tell me the story of *** Whittington and his cat,
and how they came to London and he heard the bells.
I thought, "What sort of an eejit
"goes off to make his fortune and takes his cat with him?"
When she took a man to live with us,
I knew I'd have to leave.
I thought, "I'll take a leaf out of *** Whittington's book.
"I'm just not taking any pets."
I thought the boat went from Dublin straight to London.
I didn't know there was any other city.
And I hitched a ride from Liverpool docks.
It was the driver who bought me the pie.
Did he take advantage of you?
I like your scarf.
It's from Paris.
Is that what the writing on it says?
Did the lorry driver take advantage of you?
No.
He was the last good Englishman I met.
It's just...
I can see you're expecting a baby.
Can you?
I've a trained eye. I'm a midwife.
You're not old enough.
-I'm older than you. -Sorry, girls.
I'm closing me till. That's two and nine, please.
I can't change that.
Haven't you got anything smaller?
If you can't change this banknote,
we can't pay for the meal.
Which, of course, has now been eaten.
(GIGGLING)
Four pounds seventeen and thruppence.
Is there somewhere you can go?
There's the place I used to work.
But if I go there, they'll hurt me.
People like you are supposed to help people like me.
Come on.
I can't wake Sister Julienne now it's the middle of the night.
The nuns get up to pray at half past four.
I hate half past four.
It's cold, even in the summer.
Will she let me stay?
She'll know where you can stay.
I thought you were one of my sort.
Only of the grand kind.
It was your lovely coat,
and the way you let it swing when you were walking.
There's a girl called Charmaine
in the place where I was living with Zakir.
She said she was going to go up west
and wear white gloves and a touch-me-not expression.
She probably thought she could look like you.
Mary, is Zakir the father of your child?
I don't think so.
It's such a long time since he wanted me.
And some nights I've been with three men.
Even four.
God love your innocence, Nurse Jenny Lee.
Which of us is the oldest now?
(SHOUTING AND CHEERING)
-Pedal up. -Up.
-Pedal down. -Down.
-Pedal up. -Up.
-Pedal down... -Getting it! Getting it!
Bravo, Chummy!
CHILDREN: # Champion the Wonder Horse!
# Champion the Wonder horse
I'm so proud of you, Chummy!
# Like a streak of lightning flashing 'cross the sky #
Well done, Chummy!
Oh! Oh! Oh, no! Aah!
(LAUGHTER)
Move out of the way, please. Are you all right?
(SOBBING)
I'm not going out of that door!
I'm safe here!
You'll be safe with Father Joe at Wellclose Square.
He's set up a refuge for girls like you.
I'm not going out! Someone will see me.
You're very afraid of something, aren't you, Mary?
(MARY SNIFFS)
If you can tell us what it is, you may be able to help us help you.
There was a girl with a baby in her.
And they sent for a woman to come.
She had a hook, like the one you knit with.
I had to help to hold her down.
And there was blood, like in a butcher's.
Did the girl lose the baby?
There was a chamberpot in the corner of our room.
It had violets printed on the china.
And I saw the baby in there, no bigger than my hand.
My baby's bigger than my hand now.
I can feel it underneath my heart.
Mary, we're not a nursing home, or a clinic.
(MARY SOBS)
This is where the midwives live.
We look after women in the community.
When you go to Father Joe's, you'll be in the community
and we'll look after you.
I'll go if Jenny comes.
I hope you've no objection to fig rolls.
Never had one. Are they foreign?
Probably. I never reckoned they were up to much.
They taste like treacle wrapped in a doormat.
I'm not a fallen woman.
No.
I had a boyfriend.
His name was Zakir.
He took me in,
when he found me eating bread left for the birds.
But he worked for his uncle.
And I had to work for his uncle, too.
We understand that you were forced.
There is no shame in it.
There isn't for the men.
It's a ***'s trick, old as the hills.
A young man finds a vulnerable girl,
lures her to bed with a kiss and kind words.
By the time he's finished with her,
she'd do anything for him.
But don't the girls have any sense of danger?
They've usually been in danger all their lives.
If not from violence, then from hunger and disease.
It's hard to imagine, I grant you,
if you've never lived like that.
I work in the East End, Father. I know about poverty.
Nurse, I don't think you do.
Poverty isn't bad housing, dirty clothing, families of 10.
It's never having been loved, or even respected.
Not knowing the difference between love and abuse,
a kiss that wasn't down payment on a blow.
I'm sorry.
You must think me very ignorant.
I think you're very fortunate.
And there's no need to apologise for that.
# O God, make speed to save us
# O Lord make haste to help us
# Praise ye the Lord
# The Lord's name be praised
# Have mercy upon me, O God
# After thy great goodness
# According to the multitude of thy mercies
# Do away mine offences
# Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness
# And cleanse me from my sin #
(MEN CHATTERING)
I hope everyone's brought their sample today.
Oh, not the syrup tin again, Mrs Teeman.
It plays havoc with the sugar test.
Ah, good afternoon. Or is it good evening?
You're with Dr Turner. Cubicle on the end.
Hello, Brenda!
Never thought I'd be bumping into you here!
I remarried. Two years ago.
Well, that's a poke in the eye for Adolf, innit?
How did you lose your first husband again?
In the Blitz. When the sugar works caught fire.
Oh, will I ever forget it? The gutters ran with fudge for a week.
-You're happy, I presume? -Delighted. Aren't you?
Ah, I come round to the idea. I was disgusted at first.
It don't seem right, does it?
Mother of the bride being in the family way.
Her wedding's in a fortnight.
I've had to buy one of those trapeze-line coats.
Mrs Brenda McEntee to see Dr Turner.
-Good luck, love. -Thank you.
Bowels been normal and regular?
Yeah.
-Any vomiting or nausea? -No. That's stopped.
Any swelling of the ankles? Any fainting or dizziness?
No.
Then we'll examine your tummy.
Mrs McEntee had rickets as a child,
and has a skeletal malformation as a result,
including what's known as a rachitic pelvis.
Have you come across it before?
No, I haven't.
Mrs McEntee is a rare bird.
She was deprived of sunlight and malnourished as a child.
Rickets was a disease of poverty.
Now we have the welfare state it's become a disease of the past.
As are the problems of pregnancy she experienced in the past.
(SOBBING)
Now, come along, Mrs McEntee.
I've been coming along! I've been trying to be brave.
But I had the quickening this week.
I've felt it move. Like the others moved.
(SOBBING)
And I lost every one of them.
Mrs McEntee had four obstructed labours, many years ago.
Her babies were stillborn.
But we can refer her for surgery now, all free of charge.
There's no need to attempt a natural childbirth.
(SOBBING)
I'm... I'm sorry.
It's just that... Well, things come back, you know.
Did you hear Doctor, Brenda?
This a brand-new baby, and a splendid chance for you.
We're all here to help, and Doctor's going to help most of all.
I know. I'm making a show of myself.
Not at all.
Now, let's start by letting him look at that old tummy.
WOMAN: Look out!
(BABIES CRYING)
I hope you take greater care of the babies.
They're not quite so easily replaced.
Well done.
You made Brenda McEntee feel safe.
Magic handkerchief. Never known to fail.
No. You made her feel safe.
It's the mark of a good nurse.
And midwife too.
Everything else is just mechanics.
You'll soon get the hang of it.
Do you think so?
Yes, I do.
Now, approximately three to four percent of babies
arriving at term are born breech.
That is to say, the buttocks and not the head
will be the presenting part.
Didn't Shakespeare describe Richard III as being breech?
Something about him coming into the world with his legs forward?
In Poplar they call it arriving ***-first.
(SNORTS)
Did anyone see any breech births during training?
I saw two.
I saw one, the second of a set of twins.
Nurse Browne?
-Oh, um... I did and I didn't. -Oh?
All tickety-boo to start with, then after the legs descended,
the midwife wrapped the baby in a towel
and let its body hang there.
It was dangling. Still with its head inside the birth canal.
Yes. That is done to increase the flexion of the head.
It increases the risk of asphyxiation.
It is a showman's trick, in my view.
How long was it allowed to hang?
I don't know.
I suddenly felt all peelie-wallie and passed out.
Came to face down on the lino in the corridor.
Nurse Fortescue-Cholmeley-Browne!
According to the duty log, you were late for your first three appointments,
and missed the last two altogether!
Sister Evangelina, Chummy wrote those entries in the log herself!
As if it's something to be proud of?
Chummy has to walk everywhere.
Then why isn't she doing something about it?
"Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!
"Rage! Blow! Ye cataracts and hurricanes, spout".
Sister Monica Joan...
I refer to the fact that her nose is running.
Oh. Here you are.
You need to have more respect for your patients.
If you can't be trusted to turn up on time,
you can't be trusted to do your own deliveries,
no matter how much studying you do.
I love it every time it kicks.
All I can think is, "Please let it be born strong."
Everything else can wait till later.
Quite right. You need to keep resting and eat as much as you can.
That's it. Perfect.
I could get used to perfect.
I can't get used to them fig rolls.
They'll do you good. They've got fruit in.
The night I met Zakir, he gave me chocolate cake with fruit in.
He'd given me wine to drink, and I hadn't liked it.
The cake was supposed to make the wine taste sweeter,
but it only made it taste more sour.
You can open the curtains now, Mary.
I've finished examining you.
It was after that that he took me to the Crystal Room.
I knew what men did to women.
I'd had it done to me.
And I didn't think it could be beautiful.
Or that it could happen on a bed with golden sheets.
Mary.
He said afterwards,
"Did you think anything like that could ever come to you?"
As if he knew I'd never known it could.
Mary.
What Zakir did to you was obscene, not beautiful.
You shouldn't speak of him. You shouldn't think of him.
I can't help it.
He's standing in the street.
He comes and stands there every afternoon.
I don't care how many calls I have to make
or how far we have to send her.
But I am going to get her out of Stepney.
She's younger than most, she's not sharp in the head,
and she's valuable to them on both those counts.
Right.
MATURE JENNY: A place was found for Mary
at a Catholic mother-and-baby home in Kent.
She would be cared for there,
with her child delivered in the cottage hospital.
Thank you for being my friend, Jenny Lee.
Well done, Chummy!
We're going to go straight ahead and then turn right into Lisbon Street.
Don't forget your hand signals.
I just stick out my arm, don't I?
Medal for that woman!
Slow down now, Chum!
How?
-Lean in as you turn. -I don't know how to turn.
I've forgotten how to turn!
(ALL SQUEALING)
MAN: Brake! Brake, Nurse!
(BELLS RING)
MAN 1: What happened?
MAN 2: They were going too fast.
(GROANS)
MAN 3: All right? That's it.
You all right, nurse?
I think so.
All right, darling? All right, take it easy. Anything hurt?
Oh, dear, I'm such a fool. Sorry.
Just take a minute.
First, I'm glad that none of you are more seriously injured,
and, second, that you aren't all up before the magistrates.
How did you persuade the policeman not to charge you?
Assaulting an officer is a criminal offence.
I can't remember what I said. I just tried to say it as nicely as I could.
Nurse Fortescue-Cholmeley-Browne has got off scot-free,
we're short-staffed and our patients will suffer.
Nurse Browne was diagnosed with shock and mild concussion.
After bed rest, she will recover
and then she'll be attending deliveries by herself.
She's not competent!
Cycling aside, she's competent enough.
She is a qualified midwife and a highly experienced nurse.
There's experience and experience.
What experience has she got of ordinary people?
What experience have they got of her?
They like her.
They laugh at her.
And they've every right. She's no better than a tourist.
She's using them for her own ends.
The East End's nothing but a stepping stone to her.
What if it's the stepping stone to her life's work?
This is our life's work.
We don't need Madame Lah-di-dah looking down on us
from her great height!
Nurse Browne!
What are you doing out of bed?
I've been to the off-licence.
To buy some whisky for the policeman.
Thank you.
I asked if they had the Glenlivet,
but they'd never heard of it.
(LOW CHATTER)
# Just one look at you
# My heart goes dipsy in me #
I called her Kathleen.
It means pure.
It's a shame you gave that scotch to the bobby.
You could have done with a nip tonight.
(SIGHS)
Do you suppose this is how fighter pilots felt,
waiting for the call to fly?
I dunno. I was an Army man myself. Pioneer Corps.
Gosh. One of the glamour boys?
Well, I specialised in lavatories.
It's a myth that an army marches on its stomach.
What a fighting man needs is a top-notch khazi.
(PHONE RINGS)
And not to panic.
Like Monty said at El Alamein,
"It can be done, and it will be done!"
Nonnatus House. Midwife speaking.
My daughter's waters went all over the carpet
when they cut the wedding cake!
And is the lady in labour the bride?
Bride's mother. I'd hurry up if I was you.
This is her fifth, and she don't half have 'em fast!
I looked in the book.
She's two weeks before her due date
so nothing's been sent on ahead!
Thank you.
Oh, you put a nip of something in it.
-Army trick. -Before going into battle?
Before going into the other ranks' latrines.
# Oh, the hokey-cokey!
# Oh, the hokey-cokey!
# Oh, the hokey-cokey!
# Knees bent, arms stretched, rah, rah, rah!
# You put your left leg in! You put your left leg out!
# In! Out! In! Out! Shake it all about!
# You do the hokey-cokey and you turn around
# That's what it's all about! #
Run for your lives!
Watch it! Look out!
(LOUD CLATTERING)
I will not have you giving cheek!
Especially to the nurse who's come to help your mum.
Here! What you walloping him for?
Disrespect.
Come here.
I know your wallops. You're too soft on him.
The midwife had a moustache.
(SNORTS)
She kept bending down between my knees
and looking where I don't like being looked at.
I yelled a little bit.
She kept on saying, "Nearly over.
"Nearly over."
And all I kept thinking was, "It's nearly starting.
"I'm nearly a mam."
JENNY: What was it like when you saw her face?
Like I'd been missing her my whole life.
-(SINGING OUTSIDE) -Aah! Oh!
(SOBBING)
That's the girl! Let it rip.
They're singing Old MacDonald now so no-one can hear you.
Now, after your contraction, I'll carry out an examination,
and we'll see how close to delivery you are.
I hope it's born before the party ends.
Be a right lark, making an announcement!
I don't want no attention being drawn to this, Mum!
I'm 42. It makes me look loose.
It makes him indoors look loose.
You should have made him take up dominoes.
Oi! My tortoise is under that bed!
It went into early hibernation.
Well, he won't wake up. All tortoises are deaf. Now, come on. Shoo.
Come on, out you go.
(GASPING)
This is happening too fast. I haven't even had my enema yet.
Everything in order, Nurse?
It would seem, Betty, as though your baby
is presenting in the breech position.
You what?
It's coming out ***-first.
That's bad.
She's not quite fully dilated.
So, there's time to transfer her to hospital,
where she might feel a little more secure.
I feel secure here! I want to stay in my own bed.
And it's not like you're one of them slips of girls.
Betty's had all hers delivered by Nonnatus, just like I had mine.
Mum. Quick, get the bowl.
(RETCHING AND COUGHING)
She's moving on, Nurse. She's getting ready to want it out.
I shall be back in precisely one moment.
(CHILDREN SHOUTING)
(LAUGHTER)
Stop!
I want all the children to go downstairs.
Apart from Jack.
Jack, I need you to go to the telephone and ring Nonnatus House.
That's Poplar 459. Tell them the baby is breech.
-What's that mean? -Just say "breech"
to whoever answers the telephone.
It's like the beach, the seaside. But it's got an R in it.
Tell them we need additional support. Go!
Betty. Betty, listen to me. I need you to change position.
-What? -I need you with your bottom
-right at the edge of the bed. -I can't move.
I'm sorry.
I know it's a rotten business. But I do know the form.
(BETTY GROANS)
(PHONE RINGS)
Nonnatus House?
Well done.
I can feel your hand. It's shaking.
It's excitement. I'm always the same.
Can I sit with you?
I told them to keep on dancing.
I told them your mum says the noise is a help.
Now, Betty. I'm sure you want to push like billy-o.
But I need this baby to come very, very slowly.
So pant.
Pant, pant.
-Little push. -(GRUNTS)
Little push. Stop.
(GASPING)
Bravo.
Little push. Little push.
Little push. Stop.
(GASPING)
Bravo, Betty.
Your baby's bottom is now delivered.
Now,
I need you to stay very still.
Breathe very calmly
as I hook my fingers
over her legs
and bring them into the world.
Have you done it yet?
-We're doing this together. -Yeah.
Oh!
Here, your hand's not shaking no more.
Now, Betty, I'm going to wrap the baby in a towel.
Her head is still inside the birth canal,
and, if she becomes cold, she may gasp,
which would be unfortunate.
(GRUNTING)
Now, with the next contraction,
you will feel the baby move,
as I turn her just a quarter circle.
And that will help ease the shoulders out.
(GASPS AND GROANS)
Well done.
(CONGA MUSIC)
She should have called you direct.
Doctor is always called for in the case of a breech.
You called for me. Now we're both here.
Now, Betty, I don't want you to move a muscle.
(GRUNTS)
I'm going to loosen my hand on baby
and let her body hang.
(SOBS AND GASPS)
(BETTY WHIMPERS)
Oh. Oh.
Not a muscle, Betty.
Can we have quiet for the mother, please?
Why are you holding back?
It looks to me as though Nurse is managing things beautifully.
(BETTY GASPING)
Now, old thing.
Push.
(LONG GROAN)
Keep it coming. Keep it coming.
That's it.
Keep it coming. Keep it coming.
(BETTY SOBBING)
(BABY CRIES)
(BETTY SOBS)
Hello. My baby.
Come on, you big girl's blouse.
It's only a baby being born.
(BABY CRYING)
You're all right.
(WHISPERS) Thank you.
Gone to sleep already. Just like her dad.
Kathleen!
(SOBS) Kathleen!
Kathleen!
(DOOR SLAMS)
Kathleen!
Kathleen!
Jenny Lee.
Do you know where my baby is?
She needs me to feed her!
She has abscesses in both ***!
Isn't her mental agony enough for them?
Babies are always placed for adoption in these cases.
It's thought to be in the child's best interests.
What about Mary's interests?
She's that child's mother, she did not consent!
Nurse Lee.
She can't consent.
She's only 15, still legally a child herself.
It was a case of which child should we choose.
How can a girl of 15 with no home, no education,
no trade other than that of prostitution, bring up a baby?
She gave up prostitution.
She doesn't have that choice. And you're not the only one who's angry!
(SIGHS)
But you're young.
You can be angry in the abstract,
and our Lord will love you for your righteous indignation.
Even while Mary's condemned as a sinner?
God forgives. The Church forgives.
The Church took her baby. I think it will kill her.
Without a baby, Mary is employable.
She could find love.
She could have another child.
And you think that will console her?
It consoles me.
Your milk ducts have become blocked, Mary.
That's the cause of the infection.
It hurts.
It hurts like I never knew hurt could hurt.
Reverend Mother has sent for the doctor.
He'll prescribe you antibiotics.
In the meantime, I'm going to bind your ***
so we can help stop the flow of milk.
I don't want it stopped.
It's Kathleen's.
Can I use this?
(BELL CHIMING)
MATURE JENNY: Mary was never reunited with her child.
She might look for her, but her name would not be Kathleen any more.
# Lo-o-ove
# Is a many splendoured thing
Jack became Chummy's devoted guardian.
Never taunted again by any passer-by,
she finally mastered the art of the bike.
# Love is nature's way #
All right, Constable?
Unused to such kindness, Chummy bought him a bicycle
from her generous private funds.
(BABY CRIES)
Brenda McEntee delivered a daughter by the Caesarean section
that could have saved each of her stillborn children.
The National Health Service gave her the gift of motherhood.
She called her child Grace Miracle.
And she was perfect.
# In the morning mist Two lovers kissed
# And the world stood still
# And your fingers touched my silent heart
# And taught it how to sing
# Yes, true love
# Is a many-splendoured thing #