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An Armful of Babies and a Cup of Tea
- Memoirs of a 1950s Health Visitor
- Narrated by: Karina Fernandez
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Health & Wellness, Medicine & Health Care Industry
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Summary
For all fans of Call the Midwife - a touching memoir of a young health visitor in postwar England (from the 1940s to the 1970s).
After serving as a nurse in WW2, Molly Corbally joined the brand-new NHS and became one of the first official District Health Visitors, attending to mothers and babies from all walks of life in the picturesque village near Coventry she came to call home. Social work was uncharted territory at the time, and Britain was very much worse for wear - TB, polio, measles and whooping cough were just some of the hazards new babies faced. Social conditions could also add to the problems, when poverty and alcoholism were rife.
Armed with only her nursing training, her common sense and a desire to serve, Molly set out to win over a community and provide a new and valuable service in times of great change. As well as the challenges there were also joy and laughter, from the woman who finally had a baby after 15 years of trying to the woman who thought she should use marmalade as nappy cream because the hospital had never taken the label off the jar they were using to store it.
Warm, witty and moving, An Armful of Babies is a vivid portrait of rural England in the postwar years and a testament to an NHS in its own infancy and to what hasn't changed: the bond between parents and their children and the importance of protecting that.
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What listeners say about An Armful of Babies and a Cup of Tea
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jessica
- 01-02-22
absolutely brilliant
an amazing biography of a 1950s health visitor . moving and totally absorbing. the narrator has a lovely voice which was a pleasure to listen to. this is the best audible book i have ever listened to 8 didn't want it to end.
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- Cathy H.
- 20-03-21
A lovely look back to school nurses and midwifery.
I really enjoyed this book as it was easy to pickup and loved the tales of how respected the nursing profession was and how your babies first nurse became family. Loved it
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- michelle martin
- 07-02-21
SIMPLY WONDERFUL!
beautifully , sensitively, enthusiastically written and read. loved it... read atleast 4 times!!!! more please!x
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- dennis harper
- 24-01-21
Fantastic read
Brilliant book of our NHS in the yesteryear and the difference compared to today’s practices are quite unbelievable
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- Julie
- 11-01-19
I really loved this book
I am a modern day outreach worker, doing baby weighing, visiting families alone with Health Visitor. I love my job. This book was so lovely for me to hear differences from back then. Well narrated too.