Read Online The Midwife's Christmas Miracle by Jennifer Taylor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jennifer Taylor
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much for hoping he might get an early finish for once, he thought ruefully as he made his way to the lift. Lucy met him in the corridor and he had to make adetermined effort not to react when he saw her standing there. However, he couldn’t deny that his heart seemed to be kicking up a storm and it was annoying after he had resolved to behave sensibly from now on.
‘Did you want me?’ he asked, adopting a deliberately neutral tone.
‘Yes. I need you to take a look at a patient for me, please.’ She led the way to the delivery room and paused outside the door to hand him the printout from the foetal monitor. ‘As you can see from this, the baby is showing signs of distress. It’s the mother’s third child and she’s roughly six centimetres dilated, but I wasn’t happy about waiting.’
‘It could be a while yet before the baby is born,’ Max agreed, glancing at the tracing. He reached past her to open the door, feeling his senses spin when he realised all of a sudden just how petite she was. Her head barely came up to his shoulder yet for some reason he had never noticed it before. It was difficult to concentrate as he followed her into the room when at every turn he seemed to discover something new and fascinating about her.
‘Dr Curtis would like to take a look at you, Emma,’ Lucy explained as she led him over to the bed.
Max dredged up a smile, determined that he was going to get a grip on himself. ‘Lucy tells me that your baby appears to be a little distressed, Emma. I’d just like to examine you and see what’s happening, if you don’t mind.’
Emma didn’t look too happy as he gently examined her, feeling her tummy first so that he could check the position of the baby in case that was the cause of the problem. Everything was exactly as it should be; the baby was lying with its head well down, in a perfect position to be born.
‘That’s fine,’ Max said moving to the bottom of the bed. ‘Baby’s in a good position so that isn’t the problem.’
‘We never had anything like this happen with the other two,’ Emma’s husband said curtly. ‘Are you sure there really is a problem?’
‘I’m afraid so. I know it must be hard to accept after you’ve had two trouble-free births, but trust me when I say that we all want the same thing. We want to make sure that your baby is safe and well.’
He carried on with his examination when the couple didn’t raise any further objections, frowning when he spotted a loop of the umbilical cord protruding down through the mother’s cervix. ‘Take a look at this,’ he said softly to Lucy.
She bent down to look and nodded. ‘I see what you mean, although it wasn’t there before.’
‘It’s probably slipped further down as the baby’s moved down the birth canal.’
Max straightened up, knowing that there was no time to delay. ‘A loop of the umbilical cord is protruding down through your cervix, Emma. It means there’s a very real danger that your baby could be deprived of oxygen. The safest way to avoid that happening is to perform a section.’
‘A section!’ Emma exclaimed in dismay. ‘You mean you want to operate?’
‘Yes. If you were fully dilated, I might have recommended a forceps delivery but we can’t afford to wait. A section will be quicker and safer.’
‘I don’t know…I mean, I never imagined anything would go wrong.’ Emma bit her lip. It was obvious that she was upset at the thought of having her baby delivered by Caesarean section when she’d expected to have a normal birth.
‘Dr Curtis wouldn’t suggest a section unless he was absolutely sure it was the best thing to do,’ Lucy said quietly.
Max felt his heart lift when he heard the conviction in her voice. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she meant what she said and the fact that she so obviously trusted his judgement filled him with joy. He cleared his throat, not wanting her to suspect how moved he felt by her vote of confidence.
‘Lucy’s
‘Did you want me?’ he asked, adopting a deliberately neutral tone.
‘Yes. I need you to take a look at a patient for me, please.’ She led the way to the delivery room and paused outside the door to hand him the printout from the foetal monitor. ‘As you can see from this, the baby is showing signs of distress. It’s the mother’s third child and she’s roughly six centimetres dilated, but I wasn’t happy about waiting.’
‘It could be a while yet before the baby is born,’ Max agreed, glancing at the tracing. He reached past her to open the door, feeling his senses spin when he realised all of a sudden just how petite she was. Her head barely came up to his shoulder yet for some reason he had never noticed it before. It was difficult to concentrate as he followed her into the room when at every turn he seemed to discover something new and fascinating about her.
‘Dr Curtis would like to take a look at you, Emma,’ Lucy explained as she led him over to the bed.
Max dredged up a smile, determined that he was going to get a grip on himself. ‘Lucy tells me that your baby appears to be a little distressed, Emma. I’d just like to examine you and see what’s happening, if you don’t mind.’
Emma didn’t look too happy as he gently examined her, feeling her tummy first so that he could check the position of the baby in case that was the cause of the problem. Everything was exactly as it should be; the baby was lying with its head well down, in a perfect position to be born.
‘That’s fine,’ Max said moving to the bottom of the bed. ‘Baby’s in a good position so that isn’t the problem.’
‘We never had anything like this happen with the other two,’ Emma’s husband said curtly. ‘Are you sure there really is a problem?’
‘I’m afraid so. I know it must be hard to accept after you’ve had two trouble-free births, but trust me when I say that we all want the same thing. We want to make sure that your baby is safe and well.’
He carried on with his examination when the couple didn’t raise any further objections, frowning when he spotted a loop of the umbilical cord protruding down through the mother’s cervix. ‘Take a look at this,’ he said softly to Lucy.
She bent down to look and nodded. ‘I see what you mean, although it wasn’t there before.’
‘It’s probably slipped further down as the baby’s moved down the birth canal.’
Max straightened up, knowing that there was no time to delay. ‘A loop of the umbilical cord is protruding down through your cervix, Emma. It means there’s a very real danger that your baby could be deprived of oxygen. The safest way to avoid that happening is to perform a section.’
‘A section!’ Emma exclaimed in dismay. ‘You mean you want to operate?’
‘Yes. If you were fully dilated, I might have recommended a forceps delivery but we can’t afford to wait. A section will be quicker and safer.’
‘I don’t know…I mean, I never imagined anything would go wrong.’ Emma bit her lip. It was obvious that she was upset at the thought of having her baby delivered by Caesarean section when she’d expected to have a normal birth.
‘Dr Curtis wouldn’t suggest a section unless he was absolutely sure it was the best thing to do,’ Lucy said quietly.
Max felt his heart lift when he heard the conviction in her voice. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she meant what she said and the fact that she so obviously trusted his judgement filled him with joy. He cleared his throat, not wanting her to suspect how moved he felt by her vote of confidence.
‘Lucy’s
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