Tara doubted a Caesarean would be possible in the minutes they had left. ‘Okay. I’ll grab a wheelchair while you stand Susan up and we’ll get inside at least.’
She was thinking breech, Simon, handy, and before she spun the strategically placed wheelchair out the door she pressed the little green button they used for paging help so that someone from the other side of the hospital could lend her a hand, even if it was only to phone the midwife and doctor on call.
‘It’s okay, Susan.’ She spoke in a slow, calm voice, because people arriving at the last minute in labour wasn’t that unusual, and she smiled again as she eased the woman into the chair and began pushing swiftly towards the door. ‘You’ll be fine. Help’s coming, and we’ve had breech babies here before.’ Not in her time but she’d heard the stories and Susan’s belly didn’t look full term so baby might be a little early as well. All good things for a breech delivery.
The stress on the husband’s face eased a little and Tara shared additional comfort. ‘The more worried Susan is, the more painful the contractions feel. That seems a shame so if everyone takes a deep breath and just accepts that baby is going to do this his or her way, we’ll work it out.’
‘Thank God, someone with sense.’ The muttered comment from the woman who hadn’t previously spoken startled Tara, and she had to bite her lip to stop a laugh, but then Susan was hit by another contraction and became far too busy to add further pithy comments.
The sound of footsteps meant help was almost here and by the time Tara had Susan standing up from the chair beside the bed Simon appeared at the doorway.
From worrying about when she saw him next to relief at his appearance. Another miracle. ‘Simon. Great. This is Susan, who’s just arrived. Waters have broken and she wants to push her breech baby out very soon.’
Susan glared at him and said, ‘I’m not lying down to have this.’
‘Sounds good.’ Simon crossed the room quietly and shook the harried man’s hand. ‘Simon Campbell. Obstetrician.’
‘Pete Wells, and my wife, Susan.’
Simon turned to Susan and touched her shoulder briefly while he glanced at her tight belly and then her face. ‘Hi, Susan. First baby?’ The woman nodded.
‘And what date is your baby due?’
‘Four weeks.’
‘And breech, you think?’
‘Was yesterday at ultrasound. We were on our way to Brisbane.’
‘Unless you’ve noticed lots of movements since then, your baby probably still is breech.’ He glanced at Tara. ‘What’s the plan?’
‘The plan was a Caesarean in Brisbane, but Susan wants to stand up for a vaginal birth. So I thought that seeing you’re here you could check and see where she’s up to, and baby will tell us what to do. Unfortunately, Susan has to lie down for a part of that.’
Simon grinned at her. ‘Interesting take. And I concur with it all.’ He looked at Susan. ‘You fine with those plans?’
‘Perfect. As long as you are quick. I never wanted the Caesarean.’
‘Ah,’ said Simon, as Tara helped Susan undress and reluctantly lie down for the examination. ‘A rebel.’ Simon quickly but thoroughly palpated Susan’s belly, stepped aside so Tara could also confirm the position of the baby, and then washed his hands and pulled on the sterile gloves. ‘Baby taking after the mum? I’ll be as quick as I can so you can stand up again.’
One minute later it was confirmed. ‘Yep, breech. In perfect position. And ready to come.’ He nodded at Tara. ‘Best get another person here for baby and we can send them away if we don’t need them.’
Tara crossed to the phone and called the switchboard then dragged a sheet-covered mat to the side of the bed in case Susan wanted to kneel down at some stage, and prepared her equipment. She’d never opened up sterile packs or drawn up needles so fast and excitement bubbled inside her. She was going to see her first breech birth.
Then Simon made it even more exciting. He spoke to the couple. ‘I guess I should tell you that my specialty is promoting vaginal breech births at the Central Women’s Hospital in Sydney, and if you don’t mind I’d like to talk Tara through this birth so she can practise her own breech deliveries.’
He looked at Susan and then Pete. ‘Is that all right with you?’ Susan ignored Simon but nodded at Tara while she pushed, and Pete reluctantly agreed. Tara slid the little ultrasound Doppler over Susan’s belly and they all heard the cloppety-clop of the baby’s heartbeat. Susan’s shoulders sagged with relief and she bore down with a long outward breath now she knew her baby was fine.
Simon went on. ‘If baby decides to do anything tricky, I’ll take over.’
Pete still didn’t look happy but Tara was beginning to think poor Pete didn’t handle stress well. ‘We’ll have to take your word for it,’ he said.
‘I guess that’s all you can do.’ Simon smiled sympathetically as he pulled a chair across and sat down beside Tara, who was perched on a little wheeled stool, leaning towards Susan. ‘Though I could give you my card and my phone to ring the Sydney ward but you might miss the birth.’
Because it was coming. A little pale crescent of buttock appeared as Susan breathed out and Tara felt the increase in her own heartbeat. OMG. She was going to cradle her first breech in a totally natural, peaceful environment and she didn’t even have to feel terrified because Simon was right there beside her and she felt anything but.
‘So Tara isn’t going to touch the baby at all until the last moment. Your baby is nice and relaxed at the moment and we don’t want to scare it by putting a cold hand on him or her unexpectedly. The heart rate is great and Tara will listen after every contraction to Susan’s tummy.’ Simon spoke in a very quiet conversational tone and Tara listened and obeyed every word without feeling like he was saying she didn’t know what to do. It was obviously a skill he’d mastered.
Simon went on. ‘Breech babies have the same mechanisms as head-first babies and once the hips are through it pretty well means everything is going to fit because the hips are roughly the same size as the shoulders.’
Tara hadn’t realised that. Now they could see the little swollen scrotum and penis and Pete gasped and grinned when he realised what it was. Tara couldn’t believe how fast everything was happening.
‘You’re doing beautifully, Susan,’ she whispered. ‘You’re amazing. Not long now.’
‘Okay.’ Susan sounded strained but not frightened and Tara could feel the swell of emotion she felt at every birth at the miracles women could perform. It was all happening like clockwork. The pointy bottom seemed to be curving out sideways before it stopped and swivelled and Tara looked at Simon to ask if she should flick the leg out but he just smiled and shook his head.
The buttocks came down a little further and the foot lifted and sprang free. The other soon followed until baby was standing on tiptoe on the mat as his mother followed her instincts and crouched. Now the whole belly of the baby and the stretched umbilical cord could be seen.
‘This is where we make sure the baby doesn’t decided to spin the wrong way, but most of the time they drive better than we do.’ Sure enough, the baby’s body straightened, the stretched little chest lengthened, until there was just the top part of the baby inside.
‘I can’t stand it,’ muttered Pete, as he twisted his fingers together, and Tara cast him a sympathetic look.
‘I want to kneel,’ Susan panted, and Tara cast a look at Simon.
‘Just hang on for one sec, Susan. I’ll move out of the way. You’re almost there.’ Tara pushed the chair away and knelt beside Susan as she turned sideways and with her