{"id":11709,"date":"2019-04-08T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.wnpt.org\/mediaupdate\/?p=11709"},"modified":"2019-04-05T16:49:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T21:49:02","slug":"ctm-8-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.wnpt.org\/mediaupdate\/2019\/04\/08\/ctm-8-2\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Call the Midwife’ Recap: Season 8, Episode 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Hannah Diaz, MSN, CNM<\/em>
\nVanderbilt Nurse-Midwives & Primary Care for Women at Melrose<\/em><\/p>\n

Call the Midwife <\/strong><\/a>is back for its eighth season and so are the faculty of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing with a weekly guest blog. Watch the show Sundays at 7 p.m. through May 19, then read our blog each Monday morning for historical and contemporary context about the previous night\u2019s episode. SPOILER ALERT: Some posts may contain spoilers.<\/p>\n

After an emotional and dramatic first episode of the season, Call the Midwife<\/strong> continues to highlight heart-wrenching storylines in both physical and mental health. Episode 2 opens on a loving Ghanaian family that has recently gained British citizenship. As the episode progresses, we learn that the Aidoo family all suffer from a genetic condition known as sickle cell disease (SCD). For Flora Aidoo (Jessica Kennedy), this is a serious concern during pregnancy and labor.<\/p>\n

Even today with our knowledge of the disease, Flora would have been considered a high-risk pregnancy. Among several other concerns, we midwives worry about anemia and blood loss \u2013 both of which Flora experiences. Trixie (Helen George) and Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) work through their limited knowledge of SCD and Flora receives a life-saving blood transfusion. It was nice to see this familiar collaboration between a midwife and a physician. Today, this is a common occurrence \u2013 midwives communicate closely with our physician colleagues to treat higher risk patients.<\/p>\n