In the latest Call the Midwife episode (the next-to-the-last of Season 14!) we are introduced to the Berridges – a husband, wife and young child with another baby on the way. Mr. and Mrs. Berridge are introduced as recovered heroin addicts, Mr. Berridge currently receiving an experimental (at the time) methadone treatment to combat addiction. With well-deserved pride, Mr. Berridge is pleased to be clean, working, housed, and excited for his second child. Unfortunately, as the episode unfolds it becomes apparent that Mrs. Berridge has secretly relapsed, and the end of the episode brings a heartbreaking conclusion to their family story.
While treatment options and management of substance use in pregnancy has moved forward since the 1970s, it remains a difficult and heartbreaking challenge for healthcare workers and the families in their care. This episode did a good job of portraying the delicate equilibrium those in recovery aim to maintain while also showing the lack of support and limited treatment options available at the time for women actively using during pregnancy.
A new treatment option of buprenorphine is now available to treat opioid use disorder and can be taken while pregnant. As with any complicated health problem, treatment of substance use disorder in pregnancy requires a multipronged approach of medication, counseling, case-management, and support. Though the Nonnatus team did their best, had Mrs. Berridge been connected to an “all-in-one” program providing prenatal care and recovery support all in one place, a different outcome may have been achieved.
In brighter news, this episode included Joyce’s vindication at her disciplinary board hearing! While Call the Midwife certainly tackles serious issues (see above), it is generally light and hopeful; and I don’t wish to complain – that is part of its allure. The show has previously addressed the role race plays in social interactions in Poplar, but this season is opening the door to more conversations about the reality of Joyce’s (and Cecil’s) lived experiences. I found Cecil and Joyce’s conversation by the water to be so poignant. You can feel Joyce’s pain and disappointment – to leave your home and family so far away to fill a desperately needed role, only to be confronted with contempt and disrespect. It’s clear that the show will be carrying this conversation forward and with new focus as Cecil and Rosalind make their relationship public and official.
Una Sammon, CNM, has been a practicing certified nurse-midwife since 2019. She attends births at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.