style="font-size:15px;"> He stood up from his chair and pushed the bed table he had been leaning on away from him. Melissa hadn’t moved. She stood rooted to the spot. The last time she’d seen this man they’d both been naked and he’d been trailing his tongue around every part of her body, awakening sensations she’d never felt before. Her brain was spinning so fast that she thought she might fall over. She wrenched her hand free of his, conscious of the electricity that had just shot up her arm, and grasped the bottom of the bed. Cooper moved effortlessly past her and sat down on the side of the bed to talk to Katherine.
‘Is there anyone with you?’
Katherine shook her pale head. ‘No, it’s just me. My mum lives miles away. I phoned her early this morning but I don’t think she’ll be here in time.’
‘Is there anyone else I can phone for you?’
Melissa was still in shock. She knew what he was doing and why he was doing it. A breech delivery could be traumatic and it would be better if Katherine had someone to support her. He spoke soft, reassuring words to Katherine, whilst resting his hand on her abdomen and explaining how the delivery would proceed.
‘If my baby is the wrong position, shouldn’t I have a Caesarean section?’
Cooper glanced at her chart. ‘From your history you’ve been in labour for more than twenty-four hours. Your waters have broken and we’ve already examined you and established that you’re fully dilated.’ He held her hand reassuringly. ‘If we’d known about the baby’s position in advance we may well have considered a Caesarean section. But you’re pretty far along now and the baby is ready to come out. There’s no reason to think there will be any problems.’ He gave her hand a little squeeze as another contraction clearly gripped her. ‘Do you feel the sensation to push yet?’
Katherine’s face crumpled and she nodded. She was clearly growing tired. ‘I just want this to be over.’ She started to sob.
The blood-pressure cuff round her arm automatically started to inflate again and Cooper’s eyes followed the reading carefully. The door opened and the paediatrician appeared, pushing a special cot to allow assessment of the newborn. He gave Cooper a quick nod. ‘Nice to see you again, Dr Roberts.’ Then shot a smile over towards her. ‘And you, Melissa.’
Melissa started. What was she doing? She had to get hold of herself. Cooper had managed to keep his composure without any problems. But it was claustrophobic being in a room with a man she’d seen naked. Naked.
There was that word again. She couldn’t get it out of her head. But if she closed her eyes for a second she could see his broad torso and muscular arms, all with a little smattering of dark hair that curled downwards towards…
‘Sister Bell… Missy?’
She spun abruptly, caught by the informal use of her name. That was what she’d told him to call her that night. His dark chocolate eyes were watching her carefully. He was cool and composed. His gaze never faltered. The ultimate professional. He expected her to be the same.
‘Are you ready to assist me?’
Melissa gave a quick nod, tearing her eyes away from his. She moved swiftly over the bed to help assist Katherine into the most appropriate position for delivery at the end of the bed. The semi-recumbent position would allow space at the end of the bed for the baby to hang. Cooper washed his hands and pulled on some gloves before positioning himself at the end of the bed, while Melissa remained at Katherine’s side, monitoring the recordings from the foetal monitor and blood-pressure gauge. Cooper swiftly examined Katherine again.
‘Okay, Katherine. The baby’s bottom is right at the cervix. On your next contraction you can start to push. We’ll let you know if you need to stop. Just let us know how you’re feeling.’
Katherine nodded tensely as the next contraction took hold of her body. Cooper continued to talk to her quietly but firmly over the next few minutes. ‘Good, Katherine, keep pushing. That’s the posterior buttock, now the anterior buttock.’ The baby’s legs were spontaneously delivered. He nodded swiftly at Melissa and the paediatrician to let them know that things were proceeding smoothly. ‘Take a deep breath again, Katherine. Things are going well.’
Melissa watched carefully as Cooper delivered the baby’s shoulders then checked the position of the arms and umbilicus. If the baby’s arms were extended, that could cause problems with the delivery.
‘Get ready, people, the baby’s arms are flexed so they’ll be delivered on the next push.’ He shot Katherine a big smile. He had managed to put the patient at ease and was clearly confident in his clinical abilities. ‘We’re nearly there now, Katherine, just another few big pushes.’
Katherine grimaced and gathered herself for the next push, gripping Melissa’s hand so tightly that she thought her bones might break. Melissa sat down on the bed, wrapping her arm around Katherine’s shoulders. ‘Do you know what you’re having?’ she asked, trying to distract her into letting go of her other hand.
Katherine shook her head fiercely. ‘I didn’t want to know. I wanted a surprise.’
Melissa nodded in understanding. Her view of the earlier ultrasound had revealed the baby’s sex but she wasn’t about to let Katherine know. She felt Katherine’s abdominal muscles begin to tense again. ‘Another big push now.’
Cooper positioned his hand to check the position of the baby’s head. ‘Okay, it’s going to be the Burns-Marshall manoeuvre,’ he said, clarifying the position to the waiting team. ‘This might be a little uncomfortable, Katherine, as we need to turn the baby one hundred and eighty degrees and we have to do it slowly to prevent sudden changes in pressure.’
With his focus entirely on the job in hand, Cooper grasped the baby’s ankles, waited for the hairline to appear and then slowly pivoted the baby until the nose and mouth were free. There was silence in the room for the two minutes while he carried out the procedure and the staff silently held their breath. When it was done Cooper handed the baby over to the waiting arms of the paediatrician, who made a quick assessment and used some suction to clear the baby’s airways. A quick whiff of oxygen later and the room was filled with the angry roar of a baby who was well and truly awake. The paediatrician gave Melissa a little nod and she picked up a nearby blanket to wrap round the screaming bundle, who was rapidly turning a nice shade of pink.
Just for a second she stopped. This was one of the moments that she loved. Those first few minutes where the baby adjusted to its new surroundings. Some hated the transition and screamed, others were mesmerised and looked around wildly with unfocused eyes. Those first few seconds were precious and it was one of the reasons Melissa loved her job so much. Her stomach gave a little squeeze as she stared at the little one in her arms. When would it be her turn? Would she ever be the person whose heart filled with joy at the first sight of her baby? Her biological clock was ticking and with no potential partner on the horizon, a baby was a long way off.
She glanced down once more at the perfect little pink face in her arms and pulled her mind back into the present.
‘Here we go, Katherine,’ she said, handing over the precious gift. ‘Meet your son.’
Katherine seemed oblivious to the noise in the room and took him with trembling arms. ‘Isn’t he gorgeous?’ she breathed heavily.
Melissa sat down next to her on the bed. ‘Have you got a name picked out for him yet?’
Katherine
