Mary, can you explain your query a little more. What is it about 'The Midwife' that is bothering you?
It is based on a couple of books by a nurse Jennifer Worth, who started work in the East End of London in (I think) the early '50's. I don't know which parts of England you visited in the early '60's but I doubt the inner city slums were on your lists of 'places to see'. But perhaps you mean different issues . . . other than places. If you can widen your question I'll try and answer.

My MIL was a midwife who trained in London at about the time "Call the Midwife" is set. She says it's very true to life (and really enjoyed the series).

Mind you, I saw only one episode, and that, early in the morning. The vignette was of a woman who already had 8 children and found herself pregnant once more. The thrust was she was determined to get rid of it by any means, visiting a brutal female "witch doctor" whose magical potions did not work, costing her money she did not have. In the end, she nearly died and the procedure she went through was gory, to say the least.

A parallel story was of a single young woman who was taken in by a clever male and nearly got herself raped. Running in and out of the narrative were Catholic nuns who felt helpless to do anything to help, despite being in sympathy.

After watching this episode, I came away with the impression that birth control was not available to British women until much later in time. Is this correct?

Mary, as Colleen says Call the Midwife was a fairly true-to-life series, although I felt the 'street children' looked rather too clean; white socks, washed hair etc. The nuns were actually Anglican (not easy to tell the difference) and were based on the Order of St John the Divine that worked all over the East End of London and with whom Jennifer Worth did her Midwifery practical work.
As for birth control, as far as I know The Pill wasn't available probably until the early '60's (guessing a bit) and back street abortions were all too common often with horrible outcomes. Of course if you had money and 'knew' someone it was possible to get more hygienic 'help', but, of course still illegal.
Also the women of the East End, some of the poorest in the country, would have been very much under the thumbs of their husbands. I think it was often quite a 'male pride' thing to have a large family. Obviously there were husbands who got drunk, beat their wives and children and spent their wages on the 'dogs' or 'horses' but there was a strong sense of close-knit family in these slum areas, which largely disappeared when the people were re-housed in modern 'tower blocks' or moved right away into the Post War New Towns.
In one episode there is a family with about 24-25 children. The Mother was Portuguese and spoke no English and as soon as she had one baby found herself pregnant with the next . . . but appeared to be quite content with her lot.
Interesting perhaps for Americans, is that the National Health Service had been introduced by this time so no-one had to pay for their medical care.

Thanks, Vee. That clarifies matters somewhat. I had no idea the nuns were Anglican. The East End of London must have been a very special neighborhood, almost legendary....

I loved this series, despite having no interest in gritty poverty scenes, even grittier childbirth, and the East End of London in the late 1950's - early 1960's. I watched every episode twice, I am sure. I did enjoy the first season much more than the second. I followed up by reading Worth's memoirs which I found to be as enjoyable as the TV show. I have no doubt that things were even more grim than pictured, and probably more joyful as well.

I can't get over the fact that these young women rode out into the night on bicycles, alone and at all hours and in all weather, and delivered babies under incredibly primitive conditions. Can you imagine such a thing today?

I think there always was a tradition in England of respecting the work nurses did and even in the roughest areas men would not treat a single woman in uniform badly.
I do have an old friend who trained as a nurse in one of the big teaching hospitals in Dublin and where, when they were called out at night they often had a police escort and ambulances were regularly stoned by children.
Siobhan, think how terrible conditions must have been in the days before Midwives were 'invented'. When the only help during confinement was from some ancient biddy who did the job for sixpence and also 'laid-out' dead bodies . . . and probably never washed her hands in between.
BTW over here we still have Midwives who undertake 'home deliveries' but they don't rely on bikes and now use cars to make their rounds. What happens in your parts of the World?
NB I notice that Prince William has just driven his wife into St Mary's Hospital where a gang of reporters have been camped out for days in anticipation. As nothing has happened for so long they have taken to interviewing each other . . . ;-)

There is a midwife organization in the Appalachian Mountain area of Kentucky.

A number of women in the US elect to have their babies delivered by a midwife, more commonly in a birthing center affiliated with a hospital than at home (though that happens, too). This option is only available to healthy women in low risk pregnancies. I'm talking about women who have other choices here, not the women Carolyn mentioned who live in Appalachia.