A touching and warm-hearted memoir of a young health visitor in
postwar England, for fans of Call the Midwife and The Language of
Kindness.
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, at a time 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 was also joy and laughter, from the woman who finally had a baby
after fifteen 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 post-war years, a testament to an NHS in its own
infancy and a celebration of nurses and midwives. Their tireless care
saves lives, and we need them now more than ever.
