'Call the Midwife' Battles a Poplar Gonorrhea Outbreak

Nothing says the consequences of the free love era like a Gonorrhea outbreak. The nuns and midwives of Call the Midwife had their hands full when a first-time mother who only had one sexual partner came in with a case of Gonorrhea. The search for the outbreak's source took the midwives and Mrs. Higgins (Georgie Glen) through all of Poplar, encouraging all those who think they might have been exposed to the venereal disease to report to the hospital for treatment. 

Meanwhile, Trixie had her hands full with an expecting mother, Arlene Brewer (Abigail Hood), who suffered from chronic depression and delusions. Arlene managed well when she was on Lithium, but it was a new drug in 1970 (it wasn't legalized in the States until later that year), and she took herself off it out of fear of what the meds might do to her baby. Trixie had to get inventive to get the woman the help she needed. 

If that wasn't enough drama, all this was happening while Mrs. Buckle was heading up the 1970 Poplar Flower Festival. The community was to be inspired, which caused Rosalind to hit on the idea of involving the local homeless shelter. Working on the project gave the men at the shelter some purpose and confirmed that a vibe was developing between Rosalind and Cyril. 

Nurse Crane and the rest of the staff realize that there's a Gonorrhea outbreak in Poplar when a young immigrant woman named Zeta (Andrea Vasilou) and a young school-aged lad come into the clinic, independently, testing positive. The young man's case was explained quickly enough, but Zeta was a puzzle after Nurse Crane interviewed her and discovered that she'd only ever had one sexual partner; her husband, Mehmet (Kyle Abdullah), had picked up the venereal disease from somewhere else. Mehmet refused to admit to infidelity, so Nurse Crane, Miss Higgins, and Nurse Turner started an investigation into the community. 

The outreach led them to the local brothel and sex worker Adna Rowntree (Jennifer Brooke). Miss Higgins interviewed the girls as the nurses distributed antibiotic treatments and learned a construction foreman was regularly bringing his entire crew there, explaining how it spread so fast. The next stop was the construction site where Miss Higgins and Nurse Crane found Mehmet. Caught out, he admitted he briefly visited the brothel to drown his sorrows before Zeta arrived from their home country when it seemed like he'd never see her again. That one time was enough for him to contract the disease and then give it to Zeta when they reunited. 

Mehmet allowed himself to be convinced to tell Zeta the truth, but by the time he got up the nerve, she was going into labor. The heartbreaking confession couldn't have come at a worse time. Zeta made it through the birth and had a healthy baby boy who was thankfully unaffected by the Gonorrhea. Mehmed swore that he would do whatever it took to win back her love and be the father he knew he could be to their child, but he's got a long road in front of him to earn her forgiveness. Thankfully, Miss Higgins intimidated the construction foreman into avoiding the brothel by threatening to report him for illegal behavior. So, hopefully, with the outreach the team did, this round of Gonorrhea won't continue to spread. 

While most of the Nonnatus House team was tackling venereal disease, Trixie was taking care of Arlene Brewer, a first-time mom recently released from a psychiatric hospital. Arlene was diagnosed with chronic depression and delusions after her older sister died and was prescribed Lithium before being released from the facility. All would have been well if a doctor hadn't told Arlene that she wouldn't be able to breastfeed when the baby was born, or else the Lithium could transfer in her milk. They weren't sure of the side effects of the drug on a newborn baby. Arlene was worried that having the drug in her body at all while she was carrying the baby to term could cause harm, so she stopped taking the meds. 

It only took a matter of days for Arlene's manic behavior to kick in. Trixie clocked that something was off after her second follow-up visit, but Arlene was already mistrustful. She locked Trixie out when the nurse went to call Dr. Turner for backup. When he arrived, he and Trixie had to break in through the apartment window to get to Arlene before she delivered her baby. They arrived just in time to help Arlene deliver a healthy baby girl. 

However, there were consequences for Arlene going off her medication. At least she had Trixie to advocate for her. She would be required to go back to the mental hospital to get back on the proper Lithium dosage, and her daughter would be put in foster care in the meantime. Trixie walked her through the process and promised that if Arlene followed the doctor's guidelines, she would get better and reunite with her daughter once she was well. 

It wasn't all drama and disease outbreak in the episode. Mrs. Buckle was excited to head up the flower festival as her supposed last official act as mayor. Rosalind seized the opportunity to help her get more involved at the homeless shelter where Cyril also volunteered. She recruited one of the shelter men, Ted (Howard Ward), to help her with the shelter's centerpiece submission for the festival since Ted was a window dresser at Harrods. Ted drew up a beautiful arrangement using wildflowers from around Poplar, but he was also still battling demons and an alcohol addiction. 

He left the plans for Rosalind and departed the shelter, leaving Rosalind to feel like she'd let the men down by not keeping Ted engaged in the project. Cyril tried to help her see all her accomplishments, even if Ted didn't stick the landing. It was clear that these two have grown very close and fond of each other in recent months as their volunteer stints have overlapped. Cyril helped her gather the rest of the wildflowers, and the homeless sheltered submitted a beautiful display for the Flower Festival. It also turned out that it was not Mrs. Buckle's last hoorah because her mayoral replacement fell ill, and the council requested that she stay on for another term. She had been looking forward to spending some more time at home with Fred, but he agreed that the community needed her to stay in charge. 

Rosalind wanted to celebrate the success of the entire outing, but Cyril dropped the truth bomb that he needed to head to Jamaica to see his estranged wife. The disappointment was evident on Rosalind's face when he told her the news. However, we know that things haven't been going well between Cyril and his wife since the Christmas special. If sparks are indeed growing between him and Rosalind, this trip could end with a single Cyril returning to Poplar. Or he may end up staying on the other side of the world. We hope it is the best option for our sweet Rosalind and for Cyril, too. They both deserve so much happiness. 

Call the Midwife Season 14 continues Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. The series has already been streaming as an early weekly release on PBS Passport for members since Friday, February 28, 2025, and will stream the finale in mid-April. The series will stream on the PBS app and the PBS Masterpiece Channel weekly through mid-May. As always, check your local listings.