The Midwife's New Year Wish

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘Did you report him?’ Katie asked, forgetting her concerns when she saw how worried Mel looked. She sighed when her friend shook her head. ‘Why ever not?’

  ‘Because Gary would only have twisted it round to make it look as though he was the innocent party. He did it before in his last job and the nurse he came onto there ended up on a disciplinary charge.’ Mel glowered. ‘I’m certainly not putting my career on the line for the likes of him, not when I’m hoping to get the junior sister’s job that’s coming up soon.’

  ‘Something should be done about him, though,’ Katie said anxiously. ‘If he’s tried it on with you then he’ll try it on with someone else and it might not end so happily the next time.’

  ‘With a bit of luck the next girl Gary corners will have a boyfriend who’ll sort him out good and proper.’ Mel held up her hand when Katie started to protest. ‘No. I know you mean well, Katie, but I’m not going to report him so you can save your breath. I shall just keep well out of his way in future and advise you to do the same.’

  Katie sighed as Mel hurried away. She couldn’t make her friend report the incident if she didn’t want to but it seemed wrong that the registrar should get away with what he’d done. She decided to speak to Niall about it when she got the chance. Maybe Niall could have a word with Mark Dawson, the head of Paediatrics, and get him to deal with the problem.

  She felt a little happier after that and went back to her room to fetch her coat. It was a cold, crisp day and a stroll by the river might help to walk off her lunch. She left the staff quarters, following the path that led through the fields behind the hospital. From there it was just a short walk to the river so she set off, striding briskly over the grass. There were quite a lot of people about when she got there, most of them probably walking off the effects of their Christmas dinners as well. Katie strolled along the riverbank, wishing that she’d remembered to bring some bread for the ducks who were paddling along beside her. She came to a bend in the path and paused for a moment, debating whether to continue. The daylight was starting to fade and she didn’t want to walk back across the fields in the dark.

  She decided to head back and had turned round when a whimpering noise coming from the bushes beside the path made her stop. Katie stood and listened, and heard the sound again. Crossing the path, she bent down and parted the bushes then gasped in dismay. There was a baby in a cardboard box, and obviously newborn, too. He’d been wrapped in a blanket and covered with layers of newspaper but he was blue with cold. Katie quickly stripped off her coat and wrapped the baby inside it so that only his nose and mouth were showing. Although the coat would help to warm him, he desperately needed to go in an incubator. It was impossible to tell how long he’d been there but even a short period of time in the cold could prove fatal for a baby as young as this.

  She hurried up the path and across the fields, heading straight to the maternity unit when she reached the hospital. Visiting hour had just finished so she had to ring the bell and her heart lurched when Nick appeared to let her in. She hadn’t expected to see him again that day but obviously he’d decided to spend some time in work again.

  ‘I found a baby down by the river,’ she explained as she hurried inside. ‘I don’t know how long he’s been there but he’s very cold.’

  ‘Take him straight through,’ Nick instructed, not wasting time by asking her any questions. ‘I’ll phone SCBU and tell them what’s happened then check him over.’

  ‘Fine.’ Katie hurried to the examination room and laid the baby on the bed. They kept a heated crib on standby so she checked it was ready then put some towels and blankets to warm, and by that time Nick had arrived.

  ‘Rosie is going to phone the police and tell them what’s happened,’ he told her, coming straight over to the bed and unwrapping her coat from around the infant. He quickly checked the child’s limbs and listened to his heart, felt his skull and examined his eyes. ‘He seems fine apart from the fact that he’s so cold.’

  ‘He’ll soon warm up once we get him into that crib,’ Katie murmured, swaddling the tiny body in a warm blanket then popping a bonnet onto his head to help contain his meagre store of body heat. She picked him up and cuddled him, wondering how anyone could have parted with something so precious as this tiny child.

  ‘The mother must have been in a pretty bad way to have left him like that,’ Nick observed softly, and she looked at him in surprise.

  ‘I don’t know how anyone could just abandon a baby like that,’ she said shortly, because it was unsettling to wonder if he’d read her mind.

  ‘I don’t suppose the mother wanted to abandon him but she might have felt that she had no choice,’ Nick said quietly as she carried the baby to the crib and settled him inside. He shrugged when she glanced at him in surprise. ‘I’m not condoning her actions, Katie, but let’s not be too hard on her until we find out something more about her circumstances. Some situations are a lot more complicated than they first appear to be.’

  He looked round when Rosie popped her head round the door to tell them the police had arrived and wanted to speak to Katie. ‘Can you tell them that she’ll be there in a minute, please, Rosie?’ he instructed, then turned to Katie again. ‘I’ll take this little fellow up to SCBU while you deal with the police. I expect they’ll want to take a statement from you.’

  Katie sighed as she went to the door. ‘There’s not much I can tell them. It was sheer good luck that I happened to be there and heard the poor little scrap crying.’

  ‘Talk about being in the right place at the right time,’ he observed lightly, wheeling the crib across the room. He smiled at her and Katie felt her heart swell when she saw the warmth in his hazel eyes. ‘This little chap owes you his life, Katie, so I hope you feel proud of what you’ve done today.’

  ‘Only as proud as you must feel for saving Karen’s baby,’ she pointed out, not wanting to get too carried away by the compliment. His smile faded abruptly and once again there was that bleakness in his eyes that she’d seen once before.

  ‘I can’t take any credit for that. It’s a miracle that we didn’t end up with a tragedy on our hands thanks to my selfishness.’

  ‘Selfishness? That’s a bit strong, Nick. You weren’t even supposed to be here.’

  ‘Maybe not, but I should have had more sense than to play stupid games.’

  He didn’t wait for her to reply as he pushed the crib out of the room. Katie followed him along the corridor, veering off to go to the office while he continued towards the lift. Quite frankly, she found his attitude very surprising for a number of reasons. She’d seen him operate yesterday and his skill certainly wasn’t in doubt. She’d also seen how he’d behaved during the carol concert and he hadn’t acted like a man who suffered from a lack of confidence yet he seemed intent on blaming himself when there was no need. Katie found herself wondering why he was so hard on himself for so little apparent reason. Had something dreadful happened in Nick’s past, something he blamed himself for?

  She sighed when it struck her how silly it was to let her imagination run away with her. Fantasising about Nick Lawson’s past life was the last thing she should be doing if she hoped to keep her feet firmly on the ground!

  CHAPTER FOUR

  BY THE time the police had taken a statement from Katie and asked her to accompany them back to the river to show them where she’d found the baby, it was time for her to go on duty. Rosie was obviously keen to get away so they did the handover as quickly as possible then Katie went to check on the mums who’d delivered that day. There were four in all which was a record for the unit. Last year they’d not had a single baby born on Christmas Day so it was exciting for the staff as well as for the parents.

  Katie went to M1 first, the largest of the four maternity wards. There were six beds in the ward and all were occupied. December was always a busy month and even though they tried to discharge as many new mums as possible in time for Christmas, some needed that little extra care and had to remain in
hospital over the holiday.

  Katie had a word with each of the women in turn then went to see their newest addition. Debbie Mills had had a little girl so Katie admired her and congratulated the parents. Debbie looked tired but ecstatic as she stared at her tiny daughter lying in the crib beside her.

  ‘I still can’t believe she’s real! I know that must sound really daft after I’ve just given birth to her, but I keep thinking I’ll wake up and find it’s all been a dream.’

  ‘Wait until she’s crying for her night-time feeds,’ Katie warned her, smiling. ‘You’ll soon come back down to earth with a bump then!’

  Debbie laughed. ‘That’s what that lovely new doctor said when he came to visit me before. What was his name now…? Oh, yes, Dr Lawson. Mind you, he did say that it would be worth all the sleepless nights, didn’t he, Martin?’ she added, turning to her husband.

  ‘I think it was more a case of him wanting to make sure we didn’t try and send her back,’ the young man said with a grin.

  Katie laughed but she was surprised that Nick had been to check on Debbie. Bearing in mind that he wasn’t rostered for work yet, there’d been no need for him to do so. However, it was the same story with all the new mums she visited. Every one mentioned that Nick had been to see her and they all remarked how lovely he was, too.

  As she went to the office to catch up with some of the paperwork that needed doing, Katie couldn’t help wondering if there was something odd about such extreme dedication. Granted, every single person who worked in the department gave one hundred per cent effort, but few would have volunteered to work on their days off unless it was in an emergency. Nick seemed to be carrying his commitment just a bit too far and it bothered her, although she wasn’t sure why exactly. Maybe it was that idea she’d had earlier—that he blamed himself for something that had happened and was trying to atone for it.

  If that was true then his life must be very difficult and it hurt in a way she would never have expected, to imagine Nick suffering that way. Crazy though it sounded after such a short acquaintance, she hated to think that he was unhappy.

  The evening flew past and midnight came and went. There were no new admissions so Katie let Abbey and Ruth take their meal breaks together. She’d just settled down to the January staffing rosters when the bell went and she sighed because it was typical that it should happen when the other midwives had gone to the canteen.

  Katie hurried to the front door and opened it. There was a car parked under the awning and she ran outside when she heard a woman screaming. A young man was crouched down beside the rear door of the vehicle so Katie went straight to him.

  ‘What’s happened?’ she demanded, moving him aside so she could see into the car. There was a young woman lying hunched up on the back seat and she was obviously very distressed.

  ‘I don’t know! Lara’s been having pains on and off all day long but she wanted to see her parents so we decided to stick to our plans and drive over here to visit them.’ The young man ran a trembling hand over his face. ‘The pains started getting worse after supper so we thought we’d better go home. Her mum wanted to phone for an ambulance but Lara wouldn’t hear of it. She insisted that she wanted to have the baby at home as we’d arranged. Then just as we were about to join the motorway, she started screaming that she was in terrible pain so I brought her straight here.’

  ‘You did exactly the right thing,’ Katie assured him. ‘Now, see if you can help Lara out of the car while I fetch a wheelchair for her.’

  She ran back inside and collected one of the chairs then went back to the car. The young woman was on her feet now but she was obviously in tremendous pain. Katie helped her into the chair and took her straight to a delivery room. Getting her onto the bed was a struggle but she managed it with the help of the girl’s partner. She glanced at him as she took a stethoscope off the trolley.

  ‘When’s her due date, do you know?’

  ‘First of January,’ he replied promptly, his face turning rather green when the young woman began screaming again.

  Katie decided that she didn’t have the time to deal with him if he fainted and nodded to the door. ‘Can you wait outside while I examine her? It won’t take long.’

  ‘Yes. Right. Sure,’ he gabbled, hastily backing out of the room.

  Katie turned her attention to the young woman as soon as he’d left. ‘I’m just going to check your baby’s heartbeat, Lara. There’s nothing to worry about.’

  ‘It…hurts!’ the girl wailed.

  ‘I know and I’ll give you something for the pain in a moment, love,’ Katie assured her, helping the girl to lie down. It took her a moment to find the baby’s heartbeat and she grimaced. Draping the stethoscope around her neck, she carefully felt the mother’s tummy and realised her suspicions were correct. The baby was lying transversely across the uterus and the intense pain Lara had been experiencing stemmed from the fact that the infant’s arm and shoulder were becoming jammed in her pelvis. The child simply couldn’t be born in that position and each fresh contraction merely exacerbated the problem. It was a highly dangerous situation for both mother and child so Katie didn’t hesitate as she went to the phone and asked the switchboard to page Nick then contacted Theatre and put them on standby.

  She helped Lara undress and put on a gown, quietening her fears as best she could. It would be up to Nick to explain that she would need a Caesarean section so Katie was glad when he arrived a few minutes later. She went to meet him at the door so she could explain the problem without Lara overhearing what they said.

  ‘Thanks for coming so quickly. The patient’s name is Lara Henderson and she’s due on the first of January. That’s all I know about her because she isn’t one of our patients. I’ve had a quick look at her and the baby’s transverse from what I can tell.’

  ‘It will need to be a section, then,’ Nick confirmed, glancing across the room. ‘Have you told her yet?’

  ‘No, I thought I’d leave it to you to do that. She might have some questions for you.’

  ‘Right, I’ll go and break the news to her. Can you warn Theatre for me?’

  ‘I’ve already done it,’ Katie assured him, and he grinned.

  ‘Mind reader!’

  Katie didn’t say anything. She certainly didn’t want to go into the ins and outs of whether or not she could read his mind because it would be far too unsettling. She phoned the canteen and asked to speak to Ruth, apologising for interrupting her break before explaining the situation to her. Once she was sure the other midwife was on her way back she was free to concentrate on what needed doing.

  Nick was still talking to Lara and Katie frowned when she realised that all wasn’t well. She listened in mounting dismay as the young woman refused to give her consent for the section to take place. Even though Lara was in a great deal of pain, she was adamant about not having it.

  ‘No! I don’t want a section. I’ve been to all the classes and I know what to do. I want to have my baby by myself!’

  ‘Nobody can force you to undergo a procedure you don’t want, Miss Henderson,’ Nick said quietly, but Katie shivered when she heard the steely edge in his voice. It was obvious that Nick took a dim view of the young woman’s refusal to co-operate and she really couldn’t blame him.

  ‘At the end of the day, the decision has to lie with you. All I can do is warn you of the consequences for both you and your child.’

  ‘But I wanted a natural birth, not someone cutting me open,’ Lara insisted. ‘Don’t you understand? I had it all planned and this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen!’

  ‘I do understand. And I appreciate how hard it must be to accept that you can’t have the sort of birth you’d hoped for. However, your child’s welfare is the most important issue here, surely?’ Nick said firmly. ‘Your baby is lying horizontally across your uterus and there is no way that he can be born like that. His arm and shoulder simply aren’t able to pass through your pelvis from that position. You have to trust me when I
say that a section is the only way to resolve this problem.’

  ‘How do I know you’re not just saying that? You hear all those stories about women being forced to have operations they don’t need,’ Lara wailed, tears streaming down her face.

  ‘And I am just as opposed to that kind of thinking as you are,’ Nick said calmly, although Katie could sense his frustration. ‘Childbirth should be a wonderful experience for a woman, but sometimes she needs help and this is one such occasion, I’m afraid.’

  ‘I’m not sure…’ Lara grimaced as another wave of pain racked her body. She waited until it had subsided before she continued in a quavering voice. ‘You swear there’s no way that I can have this baby by myself?’

  ‘Yes, I swear. It’s far too late to turn it and your only option now is a Caesarean section. Everything is ready so all we need is your permission then we can go ahead.’

  ‘I want to speak to John first,’ she insisted stubbornly. ‘My boyfriend.’

  ‘Fine. I’ll be outside when you’ve made up your mind.’

  Nick turned on his heel and strode out of the room and a few seconds later the young man appeared. Katie moved aside so the couple could discuss what they were going to do in private, but she too was seething with impatience. When Ruth tapped on the door, she asked her to stay with the couple while she went to find Nick and see if there was anything else they could do to make the parents see sense. He was pacing the corridor and the expression on his face proved just how concerned he was.

  ‘I can’t believe how stubborn people can be!’ he exploded when Katie went over to him.

  ‘I know. It’s incredible, isn’t it?’ She sighed as she glanced towards the delivery room. ‘I’m just hoping the boyfriend can persuade her it’s their only option.’

  ‘Me, too.’ Nick ran his hand through his hair. ‘I’m sorry. I know I should be a bit more sympathetic, but it’s hard when I think of all the women who’ve died in childbirth because they didn’t have access to any proper medical facilities. That girl is playing roulette with her baby’s life and all because someone has fed her a load of guff about natural childbirth being the only acceptable way of giving birth.’