Special Deliveries

In it Together

‘Christ almighty, this thing makes my back ache!’ Mr Smythe said to the general amusement of the rest of the parentcraft attendees. His weathered face crinkled around the eyes as he laughed. Nature had been kind to him as he aged and his hair was silver at the temples and nowhere else which made him look younger than his 42 years.  He was wearing the Pregnadad tabard with month nine weights fitted into their pouches front and back. His wife Violet had pulled the side straps tight so that the weights pressed firmly against his back and bladder in a manner all too familiar to her at this stage of pregnancy.

            ‘Welcome to my body.’ She said softly and smiled at his antics. ‘I’m glad we got this time together.’ She said to me. ‘He tells me he understands but I don’t believe him. Now he can feel what I mean. Time to rescue him I think.’ Her voice was still soft but filled with love. She went to help her husband undo the long straps so he could get out of the uncomfortable contraption. He passed it to the next man waiting for a turn at experiencing what it felt like to be pregnant who pretended to stagger under the weight of the Pregnadad tabard. They all seemed to be in a silly mood tonight. I liked it when parencraft groups gelled together like this.

            ‘Guess I should be glad you can’t show me what giving birth feels like.’ Charlie said as he walked over to where I stood, his arm wrapped around Violet rubbing her shoulder with his big hand.

Violet looked up at him fondly. It was a long way for her to look up and her jet black hair fell away from the creamy smooth skin of her face as she did so. ‘I don’t think that will be required.’ She said in her perfectly enunciated English; proof that it wasn’t her first language especially not in this city where the pronounced dialect acted as a neon sign to indicate those born and raised here. 

Violet had met Charlie in Singapore when he had gone there on a backpacking holiday after his marriage to his first wife ended. When I booked Violet early in her pregnancy they had delighted in regaling me with their love story. According to Charlie he had first noticed her violet coloured eyes peering at him from behind the counter in the library.

‘He fell in love with my coloured contacts.’ Violet teased. ‘That’s how I got my nickname.’ Violet’s real name was Siti.

‘No, I fell in love with you and your happy smile that makes everyone around you glow.’ 

It was true, I thought, Violet did project an aura of happiness that was very endearing.

‘And I fell in love with you; a giant of a man with a gentle voice, sunburnt face and dusty clothes.’ She had slipped her hand under his large one where it rested on his knee.

After 2 years of living a long distance romance they had decided to get married. Violet moved to England and was in the process of going through the channels to be granted indefinite leave to stay. She had been here for two years now and was entitled to function as a resident which included being able to work and access health care on the NHS instead of paying for it privately as she had to do when she first moved here. As well as being present during the initial booking visit Charlie attended several of the antenatal visits during Violet’s pregnancy which had given me a chance to get to know both of them. They were more overtly in love than any couple I had ever met in my career but not sickeningly so, and from what they said, had been this way since the moment they had first met 4 years ago despite their 18 year age gap.

I met Violet’s mum during the last antenatal check that I did before Violet went into labour. She was as diminutive as her daughter and also had a smile that filled the room.

‘Mother has come to visit and is going to stay with Charlie and me for the first month after our baby has been birthed.’ 

Violet’s mother nodded, smiled and gave Violet’s hand a squeeze. ‘First I am going to visit relatives in London before my grandchild is here.’

They left with arms linked together, their closeness and joy in each other’s company reminded me of the relationship Violet had with her husband.

When Violet came in complaining of contraction type pains two days before she was due she only brought Charlie with her.

 ‘Your mum still in London?’  I asked as I walked Violet and Charlie to one of the birthing rooms with a pool.

Violet nodded. ‘She will come here again after our baby has been birthed. Too many people at time of birth is bad for harmony of the baby.’

I did the usual admission observations plus ones for labour and found Violet was contracting regularly and strongly enough to be in established labour. After  a while she asked for pain relief. After discussing her options she decided that she wanted to get in the pool for some hydrotherapy and that she would try some gas and air later if she wanted extra pain relief.

I filled the pool and then said ‘I’ll just pop out while you get changed. Press the buzzer when you want me back.’

‘Where do I get changed?’ Charlie asked.

I laughed thinking he was joking then saw that he was holding a pair of men’s swim trunks. ‘Charlie, are you sure? I mean, it gets quite...messy...in the pool sometimes.’

‘Is that ok?’ Charlie asked at the same time as Violet said ‘I would like for Charlie to be in water with me please.’

‘Yes, it is fine as long as you are prepared for it to get a bit mucky in there and if you get out immediately if I ask you to do so. I have heard of other men getting in the water, just never been present when one has actually done so. You may need to scoop items out of the water with a sieve.’ I warned.

‘I remember!’ Charlie said rummaging around in their bag and bringing out a white plastic sieve.

I was only with them for another hour before my shift ended and I handed them over to Gina’s care. By this point Violet was well advanced in her labour and had her back pressed against Charlie’s chest as he alternated between smoothing the hair off her forehead and passing her the gas and air as required. Sometimes  a change of shift at this point in a labour can be difficult for the woman and her birth partner but as I said my goodbyes, I knew they wouldn’t mind me leaving them. They had each other so all was right in their world.

A sucker for a happy ending, I silently wished them forever together.

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