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Season 13: Episode 1

Premiere date: March 17, 2024

Nonnatus House kicks off a new pupil midwife training. Dr. Turner supervises the delivery of a baby whose mother has cerebral palsy. The “Raise the Roof Campaign” for better pay and conditions creates a divide of opinion among the nurses.

Season 13: Episode 1

Episode Recap Streaming Information

Featured Video

An Expectant Mother with Cerebral Palsy

Dr. Turner examines one of his pregnant patients, Doreen, a mother with cerebral palsy. Later, Sister Julienne and Miss Higgins discuss Doreen's condition.

Clip 1m 20s

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About the Episode

At the start of season 13, Nonnatus House kicks off a new pupil midwife-training scheme, welcoming pupil midwives Joyce Highland (Renee Bailey), Rosalind Clifford (Natalie Quarry), Norelle Morris (Shamia Phills) and Kath Downes (Rachel Nicholson). Joyce, who is from the West Indies, and Rosalind, move into Nonnatus House, sharing a room. Both are excited by this new stage in their careers. Rosalind’s first birth on the district is a baptism of fire under Trixie’s (Helen George) tutelage.

Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) is stunned to discover that she has close ties to one of the families they are caring for. Dr Turner (Stephen McGann) supervises the delivery of a baby at St Cuthbert’s by a mother, Doreen (Rosie Luisa-Jones), who has cerebral palsy.

The Nonnatus team learn of the nurses “Raise the Roof Campaign” for better pay and conditions and there is a clear divide of opinion around the table.

Elsewhere, the whole community is involved in an Easter pram parade.

Blogs from this Episode

Reflecting on Changing Obstetric Practices

Reflecting on Changing Obstetric Practices

by Katie Moriarty | March 22, 2024

The Season 13 premiere reminded me of many obstetric practices that have changed and advanced over the decades.

A Vocation With Challenges

A Vocation With Challenges

by Michelle Collins | March 21, 2024

Like any profession, the job of a midwife comes with its set of challenges — as well as its bountiful privileges.

Recalling A Complicated Birth

Recalling A Complicated Birth

by Deborah McBain | March 20, 2024

As midwives, some births stay with us and change us forever, for better or for worse.

A Midwife’s Touch: Easing Challenging Birth Experiences

A Midwife’s Touch: Easing Challenging Birth Experiences

by Andrea Altomaro | March 19, 2024

The season premiere captures the complex complications that accompany child birth and the importance for midwives to remain calm in the face of difficulty.

Call the Midwife Season 13, Episode 1 GIF Recap

Call the Midwife Season 13, Episode 1 GIF Recap

by Audrey Porter | March 18, 2024

The blue jays are chirping, the tulips are blooming, and the sun is finally beginning to shine, which can only mean one thing: the arrival of new midwives to Nonnatus House!

Photos from this Episode

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Explore Season 13

2023 Holiday Special

2023 Holiday Special

With Christmas fast approaching, life in Poplar is returning to normal after the terrible train crash.

Episode 2

Shelagh and Joyce assist a heavily pregnant woman whose new flat is infested with mold.

Episode 3

The Nonnatus team is thrown into turmoil when a newborn baby is diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia.

Episode 4

An urgent phone call received by anxious Trixie leads to dire consequences for a patient.

Episode 5

It’s summertime, and a young mother goes into labor amid Violet's first event as mayor.

Episode 6

The pupil midwives prepare for their final exams; two young brothers are found abandoned.

Episode 7

Joyce receives an unexpected visitor and a teenage mother reveals a disturbing truth.

Episode 8

Miss Higgins receives an unexpected visitor, and Poplar votes for its Mother of the Year.