My favorite line from this episode came from midwife Phyllis Crane (Linda Bassett) in response to the young pregnant woman, Lindy Webster, expressing that it must be unusual for Phyllis to see her pregnant with her second child and unmarried. Phyllis' keen comeback of, “I’ve been a midwife for 45 years – as shocking revelations go, that’s rather low on my list” was on par. When we say we have heard it all… we really mean that we have.

Two commonly occurring incidents in childhood were highlighted in this episode, which was a clever pairing by the show’s writers. The first was the peril brought to the Turner family as foster daughter May had a near-drowning experience at the beach outing. While most people probably know what drowning is, I am guessing very few may know of secondary, or near drowning, which is what happened to May. Near drowning is the stage just before actual drowning; the person is still deprived of oxygen, but they don’t succumb to drowning at the moment. With the oxygen deprivation that occurs at the moment, there is a subsequent chain reaction set off in the body that can lead to death 24-72 hours after the original incident, even when someone has been rescued from drowning and appears to be breathing well on their own.

The staggering thing about near-drowning is how quickly it happens. It takes only approximately three minutes of submersion under water to lead to loss of consciousness, and about five minutes of submersion before brain damage occurs. Even if rescued, the water that has entered the body prior quickly absorbs into the blood, causing a dilution state, which can upset the delicate pH balance of the blood. Children especially can seem very playful and back to their normal selves in the early hours after a near-drowning event and then like May, begin to exhibit coughing, shortness of breath, a rapid heart rate, and become listless. If not addressed quickly, the condition can progress to death or profound brain damage. Just like for May, it takes only a few seconds out of a watchful parent’s gaze for a little one to get into trouble in the water.

The storyline involving the young child with retinoblastoma – initially detected from one of Phyllis’ photographs – was an eventful twist on the day at the beach event as well. Retinoblastoma is the most common cancer in children. It originates in the retina, at the furthest back part of the eye. It can be genetic, with the gene for it passed from parent to child (which was the case for the children in the episode as both siblings had it.) A child with a retinoblastoma will often show up in photographs with a very distinct white pupil in the affected eye, or a yellow or white glow in the pupil caused by the abnormal reflection of light from the retina. While a one-time occurrence in a photo may not be of consequence, a child should be seen by their provider if it is repeated in additional photos.

I hope you enjoy the storylines that veer from pregnancy-related topics as much as I do!