Christmas specials are a hallmark (pun intended) of the holiday season and come from many places. Americans fondly remember the puppet-starring Rankin Bass TV movies that graced their screens from the 1960s-80s; Japan (famous for its anime) often includes at least one Christmas/New Year's themed episode in applicable series; and a wealth of ongoing series from England often build major plot developments around their prearranged Christmas specials. In fact, England may warrant some type of award for how much effort it puts into promoting Christmas via its established series and characters. Dedicated holiday episodes are so common that every well-known series not only has them every year, but they are also allowed extra runtime and take up the majority of TV programming until January. Perhaps there's something innately comforting or endearing about seeing Downton Abby characters trim a tree or about following Dr. Who as he works through a Christmas-Carolesque adventure. Whatever the case, England loves Christmas and so do its fictional characters.
One British series that has always adhered to this standard is the BBC's Call the Midwife. Running from 2012 to the present day, every one of the show's fourteen seasons has had a Christmas special that joyously features crisp snow, shiny gifts, soft vintage Christmas lights on a proud spruce, and a predictable but nonetheless heartwarming holiday message of hope, love, and togetherness. But beyond Christmas, this series is quietly remarkable and carries a profound Pro-Life message with many different facets.
Based on a book of the same name and set in a 1950s East End London that is still trying to pull itself back together after World War II, the series follows a group of midwives and nuns who devote their time to the people of Poplar, specifically the many expectant mothers who continue having children even amidst post-war revitalization efforts. The nurses, including Helen George's Trixie, Charlotte Richie's Barbara, and Judy Parfitt's Sister Monica Joan, Encounter everything from standard births, to undiagnosed triplets (delivered in the middle of a blackout), to tragedies worsened by patient interpersonal problems, all while coping with their own life circumstances. And yet, throughout every episode, each character reminds ever-dedicated to her profession and what it means to be a midwife. The depth of this has been demonstrated in multiple episodes, particularly one where nurses Trixie and Crane leap in to deliver a baby in squalid conditions without a second thought and another where the newly-minted Sister Frances must overcome her fear of working alone to deliver a compound-presenting baby.
Extremely Pro-Life from the get-go as a series that highlights the dignity of babies and the strength of their mothers, Call the Midwife refines that leaning in ways that go beyond a basic appreciation for life. It demonstrates the intense beauty of women supporting women, not through trite "My Body My Choice" arguments but, rather, via encouragement of ability, willingness to endure pain and fear for a child's sake, and the characters acting as strong arms for the mothers to cling to in the most intense and defining moments of their lives. In that respect, the birth scenes (which the series portrays as realistically as possible) aren't pretty, but they are undeniably beautiful. Blood and sweat predate overwhelming joy and Call the Midwife's characters are there to usher in every moment of that passage.
Call the Midwife also highlights its Pro-Life heartbeat in other ways besides depictions of pregnancy and birth. A series of episodes sees the midwives aiding the family of a little girl born with underdeveloped arms as a result of thalidomide. As the show's seasons progress into the 1960s, fathers are routinely brought into the drama of birth and asked to support their wives on a level that goes deeper than ever before. And Reggie, a recurring character after season six, has Down Syndrome but never lets it hold him back. In fact, Daniel Laurie's character brings so much joy to the series that characters and audiences alike are quickly infected with his upbeat attitude. All these plot points demonstrate that life is beautiful in all circumstances, a sentiment the show heartily and personally believes. Amazingly, Call the Midwife has also addressed the issue of abortion in a surprisingly realistic and somber way. While sometimes painted as a tragedy that "had to happen," the main characters are always aghast when it occurs and mourn the undeserved death rather than agreeing with the "necessity" of the act. In a time when pregnancy resource centers didn't exist, Call the Midwife's characters are beginning to ask themselves if something of the like should be available for unplanned pregnancies.
Call the Midwife is a show about pregnancy, birth, and the servant hands of those who minister to mothers and babies alike. But, besides that, it is also a beautiful picture of just how vital love and support are at every stage and circumstance of life. It gives a healthy demonstration of what going all-in to help others can look like and, more importantly, points out that even a little effort (backed up by gritted determination) can make a world of difference. In times of crisis (or even simple shakiness), steady hands are often needed; those who have them are the makers of miracles, big or small.
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