By Cathy Hartt, RN, DNP

Meet Chummy: A Resilient Midwife

What would a resilience blog titled “the very stuff of life” be without some posts about the PBS series Call the Midwife? The series commences in the 1950s and is based on the memoir books of Jennifer Worth. Jennifer is portrayed as Jenny Lee in the series.

During the first season, Jenny is the first to arrive at Nonnatus House, a midwifery service in London’s East End run by Anglican nuns. After Jenny barely has her toes wet, a second recruit arrives whose name is Chummy. The newest midwife is a loveable character who is portrayed as clumsy, barely competent, but doing the best she can in her first midwifery position.

Ars-First: Going Solo For The First Time

When I think of resilience tuff (tough) as it relates to Call the Midwife, I at once think of Chummy’s first solo birth. One of the senior nuns, Sister Evangelina, was critical of Chummy. Sister Evangelina did not want Chummy going out alone on births because she didn’t feel it was safe for the clients.

But the day eventually came and Chummy was off on her first solo birth. There is a wedding party going on downstairs and the laboring woman was advanced maternal age. What could go wrong?

Not Clumsy: Reaction To An Obstetric Emergency

Chummy examines the woman and finds the baby to be breech. This is where the resilience shines through and actually changes our perception of Chummy’s competence. Let’s break down what she does next:

• She has someone call for additional help.
• She calms herself by taking a very brief time-out and saying a prayer.
• She returns and takes control of the situation.

Through research we now believe that humans and animals are born with an innate ability to control stressful situations. When the stress hits, the neurotransmitters flow and the lower brain’s fear center is activated. But, our frontal brain that is responsible for critical thinking quickly kicks in and says, “I can control this.”

What is a bit surprising about Chummy’s show of resilience is her portrayal as helplessly clumsy. Her brain has likely learned that no matter what she does, she is clumsy. When humans have a barrage of unwanted events and nothing they do helps, a neurotransmitter in the brain called serotonin activates the fear brain – and the person stops trying.

But, Chummy shows a different response entirely when she is confronted with a clinical situation. She takes control and even asks Sister Evangelina and Dr Turner to stay quiet while she finishes the delivery. And, this is the Chummy we continue to see in the series. The physical clumsiness is something she feels helpless about, likely from childhood. But, clinically, she feels in control. Control is the default setting in the human and animal brain.

My Own Experience: Choosing Control

I recall being in some similar situations. One afternoon, I was finishing a routine birth and writing my note at the nurse’s station. ER came up with a woman in a wheelchair who said she had to push and she was only 35 weeks – and she had no prenatal care.

Her pregnant abdomen was large – her fundal height was that of full-term. And, she was pushing already. I picked up the phone in the birthing room to notify the OB doctor on-call because something was off. This doctor was a bit of a Sister Evangelina character and was too often critical of my ways of practice.

I was scared. Like Chummy, I am sure my voice and hands reflected that rush of adrenaline. But, like Chummy, I took control of the room. I didn’t have time for a prayer, but I could have used one! In the end, we both got a good outcome.

Like Chummy, I have areas of my life where I feel less optimistic and more helplessness – but, when it comes to laboring mothers, we know our reaction matters.

Which Call the Midwife character do you think is most resilient and why?