Daily Mail

Call the Midwife star: show scared me so much that I chose a C-section

- By Laura Lambert TV and Radio Reporter

ACTRESS Helen George has revealed that she decided to have an elective caesarean after hearing ‘horror stories’ about childbirth through her role on Call the Midwife.

She insisted it was not because she was ‘too posh to push’ but because a C-section was ‘right for me at the time’.

Asked about her daughter Wren’s birth four months ago, which was earlier than expected because of complicati­ons, she said: ‘I haven’t spoken about this before… but I chose to have a C-section.

‘I had to deliver her early but even without that, I would have gone for an elective caesarean because of what I’d learnt on Call the Midwife.’

The BBC drama has featured a number of difficult birth scenes and Miss George, 33, who plays Nurse Trixie Franklin, said: ‘Working on Call the Midwife means that lots of people tell you their horror stories about birth.

‘I’m not against natural birth – I’m pro whatever you feel is right for you. Some people may not understand why I elected to have a C-section, but it was right for me at the time.

‘It’s not because I’m “too posh to push” – it’s about what I think my body is capable of. I’m not good with pain … I faint when I stub my toe.’

Miss George, whose partner Jack Ashton is also in the drama as Rev Tom Hereward, said a caesarean is not ‘the easy way out’, adding: ‘It’s a major operation. I have a large scar. You can’t exercise for a long time and you need help to pick up the baby.’ She had Wren earlier than expected after being diagnosed with ICP, a liver condition that can cause babies to be stillborn.

Speaking to Radio Times, the actress also hit out at being ‘stereotype­d as the dumb blonde’, saying: ‘A lot of the parts I get offered are accessorie­s to a male character – the blonde girlfriend, the doctor’s wife, or simply having a romantic scene … I mean really, just kill me.’

But she added: ‘The great thing about Call the Midwife is that the women are the protagonis­ts.’

Meanwhile, Ashton said having their own baby had ‘enlightene­d’ him about the issues tackled in the show. The seventh series begins on Sunday at 8pm on BBC One.

 ??  ?? Early delivery: Helen George with her baby daughter Wren and, left, as Nurse Trixie Franklin in BBC series Call the Midwife
Early delivery: Helen George with her baby daughter Wren and, left, as Nurse Trixie Franklin in BBC series Call the Midwife

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