Chapter 13
Hope had ended up spending all of her shift on Saturday supporting deliveries in the maternity unit, as there’d been no call-outs to home deliveries.
When she went into work on Sunday, she had the sense that it would be a different kind of day and she was right.
Half an hour after arriving at work, she got the call.
‘I think I need someone to come out. My contractions are coming less than a minute apart now.’ The woman on the other end of the line sounded relatively calm, but then suddenly there was a blood-curdling shriek.
‘Are you okay?’ Hope didn’t manage to keep her own voice quite so steady, despite her best intentions. She hadn’t even got the woman’s name yet.
‘Yes, sorry, that’s my daughter. My son decided it would be a good idea to fire a Nerf gun at her head while I was on the phone.
Oh, oh, hold on a min, I’m having another pain…
’ The woman let out a long moan, and it was a while before she spoke again, her voice slightly more strained this time.
‘Sorry, I can’t talk through them when they come. ’
‘Of course not, most people can’t. I’m Hope, one of the midwives and once I’ve got your details, I’ll be straight over to you. So if you start by telling me your name?’
‘It’s Rebecca Kim and I’m at Trelawney Lodge, at the end of Church Walk, right next to St Jude’s Church.’ As Rebecca spoke, another shriek pierced the air at her end of the line.
‘Have you got anyone with you, Rebecca? Another adult, I mean.’
‘Not yet, I errr… Oh God, here comes another one.’ The low moan was back and Hope tried not to dance from one foot to the other as she waited.
The contractions were coming very close together and the baby was clearly on its way.
Hope just wanted to get herself on the road towards St Jude’s, so that she could be with Rebecca.
It sounded like things might move really quickly, so she was going to need help from a colleague too.
Finally, Rebecca started to speak again. ‘My husband’s on his way home from work in Truro. I didn’t want to call him until I was sure it was happening this time. We’ve had a few false alarms, but the contractions have got much closer together really quickly.’
‘When the pains come, are you feeling any urge to push?’ Hope metaphorically crossed her fingers that the answer would be no, emitting a sigh of relief as Rebecca responded.
‘No, it just feels like someone is tightening a vice around my stomach and then releasing it just long enough for me to catch my breath before it starts again. All I want to do is focus on my breathing, I don’t want to push. Not yet, anyway.’
‘That’s good. I’ll be with you in less than ten minutes and it’s all going to be okay, I promise. Is there anyone who can help with the children?’
‘Jung – my husband – is going to pick my mum up on the way here. She doesn’t drive, but she’ll look after the children upstairs. I just need to keep them out of the birthing pool until then.’ She laughed and then another pain took hold, whatever she’d been about to say next morphing into a groan.
‘I’m going to leave now, Rebecca, so I can get to you as quickly as possible, but if anything changes and you get the urge to push, I want you to call straight back, so you can be given the right advice.
’ Thankfully Rebecca had clearly done this at least twice before, given that she’d mentioned her son and daughter, so she’d know what to look out for in terms of things changing.
‘I’m sure it won’t come to that, but if you’re worried about anything before I get to you, just call the unit. ’
‘Okay, I will.’
Ending the call, Hope grabbed what she needed, double-checking the address in Rebecca’s notes.
It was then that she saw this listed as being Rebecca’s first pregnancy.
Hope didn’t have time to try and work out what that might mean.
She needed to arrange for the support of another midwife and get to Rebecca before she gave birth to this baby alone, with only the support of her older children. Nothing else mattered right now.
‘Izzy has agreed to offer some extra cover; she’s going to meet you at Rebecca Kim’s house.
’ Jess’s call came within five minutes of Hope leaving the midwifery unit, relief flooding her body at the knowledge that support had been secured from a very experienced midwife.
Sunday had seen a flurry of deliveries and the rest of the team on shift were already busy supporting women in labour.
Hope had wondered if Jess might end up having to call in another midwife from the NHS professionals bank for Rebecca’s delivery, so it was great that one of the regular team members had agreed to provide some extra cover instead.
‘Thanks so much for sorting that out, I’m just about to pull up outside the house.’
‘Izzy will be there any minute, she only lives down the road. I’ll come too as soon as I’ve finished supporting Anna with her patient. The labour started last night and it looks like she’s moving into the second stage now, so I don’t think I’ll be too long. Then I can come and take over from Izzy.’
‘From the way Rebecca sounded on the phone, I think we might beat you to it.’ Hope could hear the smile in her voice.
She loved this part of the job more than any other; the privilege of being there to welcome a new life into the world and seeing just how incredible women could be, the extraordinary things their bodies could do and the wells of resilience they were able to draw upon, even when they were completely exhausted.
If she ever stopped marvelling at what an honour it was to be trusted by women at the most vulnerable and important moment of their life, she’d know it was time to look for a new job.
Not that she could ever imagine feeling that way.
Right now, she couldn’t wait to get inside Rebecca Kim’s house and be a part of this most momentous of days in her patient’s life.
‘If you do beat us to the finish line, just send me a message. If not, I’ll text you to let you know when I’m on the way.
Have a happy delivery and see you later.
’ Jess’s words were said in a singsong tone of optimism, as she ended the call.
Wishing one another happy deliveries, rather than saying good luck, was something the team often did.
They didn’t need luck, they had skill. What they set out to achieve was a life-affirming experience for their patients – a ‘good’ delivery – something the women could look back upon with positivity.
That was all Hope wanted for Rebecca and, as she set off along the path towards the house, it was the only thing on her mind.
‘Oh, thank goodness.’ Rebecca opened the door, wearing only an oversized blue and white shirt, which finished halfway down her thighs, her face streaked with tears and the remnants of what looked like mascara.
‘My waters have broken and the contractions are still coming with less than a minute between. I told myself if you weren’t here in the next five minutes, I was going to have call again. ’
‘It’s okay, I’m here now, and everything’s going to be alright. Let’s get you somewhere you can take the weight off your feet, and I can examine you to see what baby is up to.’
‘I’ve put the kids in front of a film with a bowl of popcorn the size of a cauldron, but there’s no telling how long it’ll keep them occupied. I just hope Mum and Jung get here soon.’
‘We’ll manage either way and my colleague, Izzy, will be here any minute, so don’t worry about anything.’ No sooner were the words out of Hope’s mouth than Rebecca braced a hand against the door frame, letting out a long, low moan as another contraction took hold.
‘This baby had better be well on its way.’ Rebecca’s tone was adamant when she was finally able to talk again. ‘I’m not sure how much more of it I can stand. Do you think I’m close to the end?’
‘I can’t tell without looking at you, but now that I’m here there are options for pain relief that will make it easier, even if you’re not quite ready to deliver.
I promise you there’s no question of you not being able to do it, because you absolutely can.
’ Now wasn’t the time to remind Rebecca that a transfer to hospital was always an option too, if she needed more help than Hope could provide in a home birth setting.
She needed to assess how far along Rebecca was first, and they could take it from there. ‘Let’s get you comfortable.’
A few minutes later, the examination was complete and Hope had been able to confirm that Rebecca was nine centimetres dilated. The children were still happily watching a film at the other end of the large open-plan living space. Izzy had arrived too, so things already felt considerably calmer.
‘How are you doing?’ Hope asked after the most recent of Rebecca’s contractions had eased. ‘It’s not going to be long now until you’ll have the urge to push.’
‘Will the contractions get stronger then?’ Rebecca furrowed her brow, clearly terrified at the prospect, her face almost as pale as the white leather sofa she was lying on.
Rebecca wasn’t the only one who was praying for the arrival of her husband and mother now.
She had said she still wanted to get into the hired birthing pool her husband had set up two days before, which she’d started filling when her contractions had begun, but she didn’t want her children to be there when she got into the water.
Some women were okay with their children witnessing every aspect of the delivery, but Rebecca had been quite clear that it wasn’t an option for her.
Hope had no control over when Rebecca’s family would arrive, but she could do her best to continue offering as much reassurance as possible.