Feeling special.

Date:
1979
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Credit

Feeling special. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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About this work

Description

Chronicles the need for urgent reforms to improve Britain's present antenatal care perfomance in order to reduce the high rate of infant mortality and disability. At the time of making the film the UK had a much higher infant mortality and infant disability rate than its European neighbours, mainly due to the state of antenatal care. Professor Peter Huntingford appears and shows that his approach, spending time with the pregnant mothers to discuss their worries and concerns, provides much needed advice and reassurance. 4 segments.

Publication/Creation

UK : Scope, 1979.

Physical description

1 encoded moving image (27.07 min.) : sound, color

Duration

00:27:07

Copyright note

Scope

Terms of use

Unrestricted
CC-BY-NC-ND

Language note

In English

Creator/production credits

Produced by Randel Evans Nucleus for the Spastics Society, directed and written by Nigel Evans and Sara Fielden, produced by John Allison and narrated by Jonathan Dimbleby.

Notes

This film was donated to Wellcome Trust by Scope.

Contents

Segment 1 The narrator, Jonathan Dimbleby, explains that the vast majority of mental disability is not caused by genetics but by premature birth. A premature baby unit in a hospital is shown, and the narrator explains that prevention of premature births is not simple but it is however made more difficult if at-risk pregnancies are not identified early. The benefits of antenatal care are discussed, and a hospital antenatal clinic is shown. The narrator explains that not enough mothers attend clinics and that many do not begin attending early enough. Other developed countries have much better rates of attendance. The example of Halifax maternity unit is given, which is in the centre of many towns and villages. Mothers find it difficult to get to the unit so do not bother attending. Mothers talk about the way they are treated in clinics: rushed, unfriendly and they are patronised. Time start: 00:00:00:00 Time end: 00:07:17:07 Length: 00:07:17:07
Segment 2 Many clinics are also too busy to provide one-to-one contact. Many mothers are put off and only attend a clinic once. Dr Geoffrey Marsh, a GP, explains that GPs have to be prepared to make more home visits to mothers, and that there may be some middle class condescension to working class mothers by the ante-natal staff. Time start: 00:07:17:07 Time end: 00:13:04:05 Length: 00:05:46:23
Segment 3 A community midwife goes to visit a mother at home and examines her. The midwife later explains that poorer mothers do not attend clinics until they have reached 26 weeks of pregnancy. It is at this date that they begin to receive maternity benefits, but at that point, it is too late for proper antenatal care to begin. The narrator says simply that 'it is the babies of the poor who die as a result', and that social considerations, not medical ones, would make the difference. Comparisons are made to France, which provides mothers with a generous maternity package. Mile End clinic in London is shown. Although busy they prioritise continuity of care for each mother-to-be and have a flexible appointment service, which means they are more successful in gaining the confidence of the mothers. Professor Peter Huntingford of the London Hospital talks about the kind of care that's needed. He says that there is too much emphasis on an efficient system rather than preserving the dignity of the people seeking care. Time start: 00:13:04:05 Time end: 00:20:04:00 Length: 00:06:59:20
Segment 4 Prof. Huntingford examines a pregnant woman and discusses her condition. In this case, he says that the father is more involved and also asks questions about the pregnancy, which makes for a more successful birth. He says that patients should feel free to ask more questions. Another doctor-patient session is seen, and they frankly discuss how the mother is feeling. Time start: 00:20:04:00 Time end: 00:27:07:21 Length: 00:07:03:21

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