Tony translated with a smile when Bridgette winked at him. ‘My mother.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘She does a lot for us, but she can be a bit too much at times, though she means well.’ He rubbed his wife’s back as Maria said a little more of what she thought about her mother-in-law. ‘Maria always does this when…’ And Bridgette smiled, knew as Tony did, what was coming. Maria leant against the bed, her face changing to a familiar grimace.
‘I want to push.’
‘That’s good,’ Bridgette cheered.
‘Come on, Tony,’ she said and they both helped Maria up onto the bed. ‘I’m just going to let Dr Hudson know—’
‘No need.’ Dr Hudson came in.
‘How’s she doing?’ Rita popped her head around the door again and Bridgette gritted her teeth, while trying not to let Maria see.
‘Can we get the paediatrician down?’ The obstetrician’s tone was a little brusque and Bridgette saw the flare of panic in Maria’s eyes.
‘It’s fine, Maria,’ Bridgette reassured her as Rita went to make the call. ‘The fact Dr Hudson wants the paediatrician to come down means that you’re getting close now and it won’t be long till your baby’s born.’
‘The paediatrician is on his way,’ Rita called over the intercom. ‘I’ll come in and give you a hand in a moment.’
Bridgette watched as Maria’s eyes closed; as she dipped into her own private world and just tried to block the gathering crowd out. She had wanted the birth to be as low-key and as relaxed as possible, and had three other births with which to compare, but because of the possible health complications, more staff would be present with this one. Though potentially necessary, it just compounded things for Maria.
‘Have you got everything ready?’ Rita bustled into the room. ‘Dominic is just a couple of minutes away.’
Bridgette felt incredibly confident with Dominic. He was an amazing doctor and very astute. However, for Maria, perhaps it was not the best combination of staff. Dr Hudson believed in planning for every eventuality—every eventuality—and Rita was one of those high-energy people who somehow didn’t soothe. Now Dominic, a rather aloof paediatrician, was being added to the mix, except…‘Dominic Mansfield?’ Tony looked over at Bridgette. ‘Is that the paediatrician who’s coming?’ When Bridgette nodded, Tony hugged his wife. ‘That’s good news, Maria.’
‘Bridgette?’ Rita was checking and double-checking everything Bridgette had already done. ‘Have you got the—?’
‘Shut up!’ roared Maria, just as Dominic came into the room.
For once Bridgette was grateful for his silence. He gave Tony a nod as Maria quietly laboured. Dominic took off his jacket and headed to the sink to wash his hands and then tied on a plastic apron.
‘Big breath, Maria,’ Bridgette said gently. ‘Come on, another one…’ The birth was imminent. ‘And then push until Dr Hudson tells you to stop.’ Maria was very good at this. There was grim concentration on her face as she bore down and Bridgette held her leg, relaying Dr Hudson’s gruff instructions but in more encouraging tones. ‘Don’t push now. Just breathe. The head’s out.’
The baby didn’t even require another push. She slithered out into Dr Hudson’s hands, where Rita was waiting to cut the cord and whisk the baby off for examination.
‘Up onto Mum’s stomach,’ Dominic said. ‘Tony can cut the cord.’ Bridgette silently cheered as his calm, authoritative voice slowed the haste.
‘Do you want the baby moved over for examination?’ Rita checked when, again, she didn’t need to. It had been a very beautiful birth, and Bridgette was especially thrilled that Dominic seemed in no rush to whisk the baby off and examine her—instead, he just quietly observed.
The little girl was small and Bridgette placed a towel over her, rubbing her to stimulate her, but she felt very calm with Dominic’s stoic presence so close.
As the baby took her first breaths, Dominic called Tony over and the cord was cut—and Bridgette felt a blink of tears because the birth Maria had wanted so badly for her baby was happening.
‘I can examine her here,’ Dominic said, when Rita checked again if he wanted the baby moved over. And he did. He checked the little baby’s muscle tone and her palate and listened to her heart for a long time. He told Maria he would perform a more comprehensive examination in a little while. ‘But for now I’ll let you enjoy her.’
There really was a lot to enjoy. She peered up at her mum, her almond-shaped eyes huge and gorgeous; she was very alert, and even though she let out a few little cries, she was easily comforted by Maria.
‘Do you want me to let your family know?’ Rita asked, and Bridgette’s jaw tightened. She could understand the conversation that had been held at Jasmine’s leaving do now. Rita really did try and take over.
‘They’ll want to come in,’ Maria said. ‘I just don’t want…’ She held her baby closely. ‘I want it to be a celebration, the same as it was with my others.’
‘It will be,’ Dominic said. ‘They just haven’t met her yet.’
‘She wants to feed,’ Maria said, as her daughter frantically searched for her breast.
‘Let her.’
‘You said they’d scan her first,’ Maria said, because, though detailed prenatal scans had not shown anything, the nature of the syndrome meant the little girl was at risk of a heart defect and would need to be checked by a paediatric cardiologist soon after birth, but Dominic was clearly happy with his findings.
‘She’s looking great,’ he said, quietly observing, and the baby did latch on, but Bridgette helped with the positioning.
It was one of those births that confirmed her vocation—there was no greater gift than watching a new life come into the world, and today’s so-called difficult birth had been made especially wonderful by the calm presence of Dominic. Again he had surprised her. He wasn’t particularly effusive or gushing, he was so much more than that, and he was everything this little family needed today.
Dominic stayed and wrote up his notes while the little girl fed and Bridgette watched for any signs that the baby was having trouble sucking and swallowing but she was doing very well. ‘Dominic said that breast feeding might be more difficult than with the others…’ Maria looked down at her daughter, who was tiring, so Bridgette suggested she take her off now.
‘She’s doing an awful lot right,’ Bridgette said, checking the babe and then filling in her own notes. ‘She’s cried, pooed, wee’d and fed.’
Dominic came over. ‘You remember I said that I’d take her up to NICU for a little while after she was born,’ he said. ‘I want that scan done. Everything looks good,’ he reassured the parents, ‘but I just want her thoroughly checked. Hopefully she’ll be back down with you soon.’
Maria nodded and then took a deep breath. ‘Can you bring in my family first?’ Her eyes went to her husband’s. ‘If they start, I want you to…’
‘We’ll be here,’ Bridgette
