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The nurse crouches down as she takes Serena’s pulse. “Mr. Drake, I understand this is frightening for you, but we are here to help.” She turns back to Serena, “Your vitals are okay, don’t worry. We’ll get you settled in a room, and then we can go through your birth plan.”
Serena nods weakly.
“She needs a doctor, not a nurse,” I insist, growing ever more impatient.
Serena breathes through another contraction before pointing to the woman’s nametag. “She is a doctor, babe.”
I look down and see my wife is right, yet again. I might be shit hot in the courtroom, but it’s clear that when faced with the woman I love in pain, I lose the plot. It says Dr. Pearson right there on her name tag.
I ask, “What do you think’s going on, Dr. Pearson?”
“Everything looks fine, I’ll get her settled in the room and we can see how far the labor has progressed. You stay here and fill out the admission paperwork,” she orders.
“But I can’t—” I start.
“It will only take a moment, Mr. Drake. Your wife is fine, nothing will happen. Just fill in the details and join us.”
I don’t like the idea of being separated from my pregnant wife, but I do as she says because she’s a doctor. Doctors know best, I tell myself. My mother and I make eye contact as they move past me. I trust her to stay by Serena’s side and call me if anything happens. As I see them walk away it dawns on me, I was being an ass when my wife needs me the most. The obstetrician was probably giving me the prospective father equivalent of a time out, while she did whatever needed to be done to get Serena settled.
I fly through the paperwork as fast as I can, and suitably chastised, I march my hefty ass back to the birthing room they put her in, just in time to see them about to do an ultrasound. When I race to her side, my mom steps back to make room for me. I give her a grateful kiss on the forehead before moving forward to take Serena’s outstretched hand.
When the doctor squirts gel onto her belly and moves a wand over her stomach, I watch the monitor, holding my breath in case something is wrong.
After what seems like forever. The doctor looks at Serena and says, “Everything’s fine, I need to do a pelvic exam to check how many centimeters dilated you are, but the baby’s vitals are all good.”
While Serena is arranging herself for the examination, I immediately apologize to the doctor. “I’m sorry about earlier. Seeing my wife in pain really messes me up.”
The doctor gives me an understanding smile. Her dark ebony skin and short cropped black hair make her seem younger than she is, but I can see now that I’m looking more closely, she’s obviously older and knows what she’s doing. “We’ll attach her to a fetal monitor in order to keep an eye on her progress. I’m going to do the pelvic exam now,” she pauses and asks Serena, “Are you okay with everyone being present, or would you prefer that they leave?”
My mom goes to pick up her purse, “I’d like everyone to stay,” Serena says.
The doctor starts the examination, after she’s done, she throws her gloves in the trash and says, “You’re four centimeters dilated at the moment.”
“What does that even mean?” I ask, then realize I’m speaking over Serena again.
Dr. Pearson responds, “It means she’s four centimeters dilated,” looking at Serena she continues, “You’ll be ready to push when you’re ten centimeters.”
“How long will that take?” Serena asks.
“It varies, the average time to go from four centimeters to ten is around three hours, but your labor could be faster or slower.”
Serena nods. I feel my heart race at the thought of seeing my woman in pain for hours. “What about the epidural? That’s in the birth plan, right?”
“Yes, that’s something we can do. As you’re four centimeters we could get that set up now if you want?” The doctor says.
“Do it!” I exclaim.
“No,” Serena interrupts. “I heard that a first labor can go on for hours, what if it wears off?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. We will ensure you have adequate pain relief. Once you have the epidural, you’ll be confined to the bed and won’t be able to walk around, so if you’d prefer to wait, we can do that. I can check you in another hour to see how fast you’re dilating.”
“I’ll do that,” Serena says.
I nod because this does sound like a cautious plan.
After an hour and a half, the doctor announces that she’s now six centimeters, she tells Serena that she’s now in active labor, and if she wants the epidural then now is the time to have it. Serena agrees, so I’m standing at the far side of the room with my mom while the anesthetist is setting it up. I can’t quite believe how quickly her pain goes away. To see her suffering one moment and pain free the next is like a miracle. I get emotional when she looks up and with a relieved smile and I realize that never once did she freak out or beg for the pain to stop. After that point everything seems to happen so quickly, and it seems like only moments have passed when Dr. Pearson says, “Okay, you’re fully dilated. At the next contraction you can start pushing.”
***
