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Minutes later Carlo strolled into the room dressed in theatre scrubs. His shoulders looked impossibly broad and Zan struggled to keep her attention on Helen.
He examined her quickly, checked the foetal heart trace and glanced up as one of the paediatricians entered the room.
‘Just one of you?’ He was frowning slightly but the doctor shook her head.
‘My colleague is on her way.’
The second paediatrician arrived with the anaesthetist and from then on there was an air of anticipation and excitement as they waited for Carlo to deliver the first twin.
With the minimum of fuss and bother he delivered the head and then the shoulders and finally the first twin slipped into his hands.
‘A little boy, Helen,’ Carlo said quietly, letting the paediatrician check the baby carefully before putting him to the breast. ‘I want him to feed if he can, because it will stimulate your contractions. In the meantime, I’m going to scan you to assess the lie of the second twin.’
Zan noted the time of delivery and carefully labelled the baby ‘Twin One’ so that there was no confusion.
‘The second twin is lying head down, Helen,’ Carlo told her finally, pressing on the top of Helen’s uterus. ‘I’m just moving him down a bit.’
Helen stroked the first baby’s downy head and looked up at her husband in wonder. ‘He’s so tiny.’
Zan was concentrating on the second twin with Carlo. She glanced at the machine and placed a hand on Helen’s uterus.
‘She’s stopped contracting.’
Carlo nodded. ‘We’ll put up an oxytocin infusion and wait for the head to descend.’
They did that and Zan kept monitoring the contractions. ‘That’s better—will you rupture the membrane?’
Carlo shook his head. ‘Not yet. The baby isn’t distressed, so I’d rather leave nature to take its course if we can.’
Zan looked at him with a new respect. She’d come across so many obstetricians who couldn’t wait to intervene and hurry everything along, but Carlo was completely relaxed and confident, happy to let the mother’s body do the work if it was possible.
Helen looked at him anxiously. ‘Is it taking too long?’
‘Everything’s fine.’ Carlo put a hand on her abdomen to feel the contraction and checked the monitor. ‘We’re waiting for the baby’s head to come down and for the waters to break. If necessary I can speed things up, but for the moment you’re doing well.’
Even as he spoke the waters broke, and when Carlo examined her again he was satisfied that the second twin’s head was engaged.
‘You’re doing really well,’ he said, encouraging Helen, who was now looking exhausted. ‘Push with the next contraction.’
He shot a meaningful glance at the second paediatrician who gave a brief nod of understanding.
The second twin was born in a slippery rush and lay still in Carlo’s hands. Immediately the paediatrician took the baby and cleared the airways. The baby coughed and spluttered and gave a thin wail of protest.
Zan breathed a sigh of relief and gave Helen a hug. ‘Congratulations,’ she said hoarsely. ‘A little girl. One of each.’
‘Is she all right?’ Helen was straining to see the second twin, but the paediatrician was taking no chances and was giving the baby a full examination.
‘She’s fine,’ Zan assured her. ‘We’re just giving her a whiff of oxygen and then you can give her a cuddle.’
Carlo delivered the second placenta, checked that it was intact and glanced at Helen. ‘No tears, no stitches needed. You did brilliantly.’
Zan hid a smile. One of the main reasons that Helen hadn’t encountered a problem was because Carlo was so skilled. He was undoubtedly the best doctor she’d ever worked with.
He exchanged a brief smile with Zan and then had a conversation with the paediatricians while Zan made Helen more comfortable.
The first twin was feeding happily now, firmly attached to Helen’s breast, his eyes wide as he sucked.
‘He’s so gorgeous.’ Zan touched his cheek gently.
