Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author.

“At Easter we celebrate the opening of the year. The stone of winter rolls away admitting air and light. We have survived the dark days and are free to be diverted and as we open -- our hearts and eyes are fresh. Our wings unfold and carry us towards the things in store; new choices, new chances, new horizons, faces waiting to be known, hands waiting to be held, first words, first glimpses of potential. Hope emerges everywhere. Some of us simply begin, while others begin again, or try again, or just try and give their best. Once the shadows fall behind us everything is possible.”

Welcome back Call the Midwife—Season 11 was a fabulous end to my weekend. It felt good to see ‘old friends’ with the midwives, nuns, and characters returning to our screens. This episode had some content that was hard with fear being front and center. The storyline that I would like to focus on is the Fleming family. Audrey and Derek Fleming returned and I felt their anticipation but deep seeded fear. Last season they had baby Christopher; however, he died due to birth defects and complications from Derek’s prior exposures to radiation as a serviceman during Operation Grapple. The information the Fleming family continued to gather after their significant loss was from other servicemen: cancers, health issues, and families that had dealt with birth defects. They shared the many scraps of paper, scribbled notes, envelopes with information, and the midwives began to organize and collate the information. However, Audrey’s entire pregnancy was one filled with emotions, with fear being the strongest emotion, of the potential of what was ahead.

As a modern day midwife this storyline hit home hard for me. The Fleming’s storyline made me think of the current war in the Ukraine and Russia taking control of the nuclear plant. There are serious humanitarian, human rights and environmental impacts that we are reading about and seeing on the news every day. As well, it makes me revisit the memories of the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and the resulting deaths and birth traumas after that incident. The Chernobyl accident in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel. The accident caused the largest uncontrolled radioactive release into the environment ever recorded for any civilian operation, and large quantities of radioactive substances were released into the air for about 10 days. As a result of the accident approximately 350,000 people were evacuated. Thirty operators and firemen were killed within three months with several further deaths recorded later. Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) was originally diagnosed in 237 people onsite and involved with the clean-up. Common ARS symptoms include gastrointestinal problems (e.g. nausea, vomiting), headaches, burns and fever.

Ukraine has 15 operable nuclear reactors at four plants that generate about half of its electricity (World Nuclear Organization). This past February 2022, Russia launched a military offensive against Ukraine and on February 24^th, 2022, Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Russian forces had taken control of all facilities of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In the early hours of March 4^th the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine became the first operating civil nuclear power plant to come under armed attack. Fighting between forces overnight resulted in a projectile hitting a training building within the site of the six-unit plant. Russian forces then took control of the plant. The six reactors were not affected and they state there was no release of radioactive material. The IAEA closely monitors developments in countries with respect to its nuclear facilities.

These events and the ongoing conflicts bring much stress and fear to the world—and as a midwife my thoughts went to counseling and preparation. There was valuable information on the Center for Disease Control (CDC) site with information for clinicians regarding radiation and gestation along with information and pocket guides for preparation and drills (that hopefully would never need to be used).

I also found a pocket guide by the CDC which is designed for clinicians (physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals) who will provide emergency care following a radiological event. The pocket guide is designed as a follow-up supplement to the CDC training program entitled Radiological Terrorism: Just in Time Training for Hospital Clinicians. The pocket guide is designed as a quick reference for clinicians who will provide emergency care in a hospital setting following a radiological terrorism incident.

Each day I pray things will settle. Each day the world does keep spinning and the sun keeps coming up; however, I know how unbelievably lucky I am to wake up and feel safe, warm, and have access to food and water.

“Often in the spring we cease to remember the winter that preceded it. The clouds and the rain are of no consequence at all. We look to each other for our sunshine and that light is all there is. Where there is isolation, there is togetherness. Where there was silence, there was music. And where there is tribulation, there is peace of mind. Every season passes in the end. Sharp shoots become soft leaves and the fruit we wait for tastes the sweetest. Endure the grief. Embrace the joy. All things come. This is how the world turns. This is life itself.”

RESOURCE

Center for Disease Center (2018): Types of radiation emergencies https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/typesofemergencies.htm

CDC (2018): Radiological terrorism: Just in time training for hospital clinicians. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/justintime.htm

CDC (2018): Radiation emergency pocket guide. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/pocket.htm

CDC: Radiation and Pregnancy: A fact sheet for clinicians (2020) https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/prenatalphysician.htm

World Nuclear Organization: https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx