A Change of Heart for the Cornish Midwife by Jo Bartlett
3
Jointly managing the midwifery unit with her best friend, Anna, was the best job Ella could possibly imagine. She was one of those rare people who had no intention of giving up work, even if she won the lottery, and when Niall’s sister, Saoirse, had flown over from Ireland to help out with the children, two days after Lissy had been taken into hospital, Ella had headed straight into work after dropping Bailey back at the farm. She’d spent the day running back-to-back clinics before starting an on-call shift for home deliveries. Now it was 5.30 p.m. and she’d been just about to get into her car to drive home, when she’d got a call from Anna, asking her to drive over to Port Kara to assist with a home delivery.
It took fifteen minutes to reach the address Anna had given her. Whatever she’d been expecting, it wasn’t the huge house perched on the edge of the cliff, which appeared to be made almost entirely of glass. Standing at the front door, she could see white foam forming as the waves broke on the beach beyond the glass wall at the other side of the building. The inside of the house was like something out of a glossy magazine, all white sofas and over-sized artwork. It didn’t look like the sort of place anyone lived in, let alone the sort of place where someone would give birth.
‘Thanks so much for coming.’ Anna answered the door and gave Ella a brief hug. ‘I don’t think it’s going to be long now. She’s doing brilliantly and she was already at eight centimetres when I called you. She’s still refusing pain relief too. How’s everything with Lissy?’
‘She seems to be responding to the medication, so they’ve booked an induction for three weeks’ time and, if her blood pressure remains stable, that’s Plan A. But if it starts to spike again, they’ll deliver the baby straight away. At least they’ve been able to administer the corticosteroids, which should help the baby’s lungs either way.’
‘That’s great news.’
‘It is.’ Ella smiled. ‘But what I need to know now is who on earth chooses to give birth at home when they live in a house like this? I wouldn’t even let people sit on the sofas in their outside clothes if it was my place.’
Anna knew she was joking. It was a beautiful house, but it really wasn’t Ella’s sort of thing. She and Dan had bought a dilapidated house on ten acres of equally unkempt land, at Crooked Cottage Farm.
‘You saw her name on the notes, didn’t you?’
‘Becky Mann? It doesn’t ring a bell.’
‘That’s because she’s a lot better known as Becks Manila.’
‘You’re kidding!’ Even as Ella said the words, it was obvious Anna was deadly serious and it explained the opulence of their surroundings. Becks Manila was everywhere and even Ella, who knew next to nothing about celebrity culture, had heard of her. She’d been discovered posting videos of herself singing online and had since had a string of hit singles. She modelled for all the big brands and had started to appear in films too. When she’d married tech entrepreneur, Luke Stanford, who’d recently made it on TheSunday Times Rich List, all the big celebrity and business names had been there. Every newsstand in Port Agnes had been filled with magazines with photos of Becks smiling out from their covers, looking absolutely stunning on her big day. It had been the talk of the Three Ports area because the wedding had taken place in Port Kara, which had, over the past few years, become something of a celebrity hotspot. It had been a joke amongst the team at the unit who would be the first midwife to deliver a celebrity baby and now it looked like it was happening. Ella was almost certain Becky hadn’t accessed any antenatal care from the team, though, which made all of this doubly unexpected.
‘I thought that myself when I got the call.’ Anna ushered Ella into the house. ‘Apparently the plan was for Becky to deliver at The Portland, but the baby’s decided to put in an appearance three weeks early. She doesn’t want to go to the hospital in Truro and it was too late to arrange a private midwife. When I got the call, I wasn’t sure whether the Trust would agree to us coming out, but I think a few strings had been pulled, along with the offer of a sizeable donation to NHS Charities Together, from what Luke has said.’
‘Get you, calling a multi-millionaire by his first name!’ Ella laughed, as Anna gave a theatrical shrug.
‘Those are just the circles I move in these days.’ Anna turned around. ‘And if you follow me, I can make you a star too. For the next hour or two at least.’
‘I’m in.’ Ella still felt a bit like she was sneaking around somewhere she shouldn’t be, as she followed Anna through the house and past a bank of ten-feet-high glass windows offering the view she’d seen earlier of the ocean and the sweeping stretch of private beach that only serious money could buy. The house curved around as they moved away from the huge, open-plan living area and into the room where Becky was standing, with both hands on the rail at the bottom of the bed, bending at an almost ninety-degree angle, clearly in the midst of a contraction. Her husband was rubbing her back and whispering words of encouragement, the two of them barely seeming to register the arrival of Anna and Ella.
Childbirth was one of life’s great levellers and there were millions of other couples, from every walk of life, who’d shared a moment like this. But it still brought a lump to Ella’s throat every time she witnessed it. Sometimes it was mothers supporting their daughters, or a best friend helping another through the delivery of her child. It didn’t matter; it was always a moment that the people involved would never forget and it was a huge privilege to be able to witness it.
‘How are you doing?’ Anna’s voice was gentle and whenever Ella imagined giving birth to her own child, she always pictured having her closest friend as her midwife. There was no-one more experienced, nurturing, or calm in a crisis than Anna. ‘This is Ella, the second midwife I told you about, and you’ll be relieved to hear that we’re ready for this little one to arrive, now that we’ve got extra support in case we need it.’
‘Not as ready as I am.’ Becky straightened up as the contraction passed, her grimace gradually turning into something that looked much more like a smile. ‘Thanks so much for coming. I know we’ve sort of landed this on everybody.’
‘Babies have a way of doing that and home deliveries are one of the best parts of my job, so there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.’ Ella returned her smile, surprised at how easy she found it to talk to someone she’d only ever seen on TV before, but labour could break the ice in a way that nothing else quite did.
‘I can think of a few thousand places I’d rather be!’ Becky laughed. ‘But I’m really glad the baby’s going to be born here. She clearly wants to be Cornish like her mum.’
‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d planned it.’ Luke kissed his wife. ‘How am I going to cope with two feisty Cornish women in my life.’
‘You’ll be the luckiest man on earth.’
‘I already am.’ Luke’s expression changed as Becky groaned. ‘Are you okay, angel?’
‘Mhmm.’ Becky bent double again, almost growling her way through the contraction.
‘I think it might be a good idea to give you another examination once this contraction has passed and see what’s happening.’ Anna exchanged a look with Ella, who nodded. They’d developed such a synergy in the way they worked together and within moments they were ready for the delivery they both suspected was just around the corner. With everything in place, all they needed was the examination to confirm their suspicions that things were about to progress.
‘Well it’s good news; I can see the top of baby’s head already.’ Anna smiled and Becky lay back against the pillows for a moment, making the most of the break between contractions. ‘Have you thought about what position you want to deliver in?’
‘Now she’s nearly here, I think I’d like to stay on the bed. I don’t think I’ve done enough squats at the gym to deliver her in an upright position.’ Becky pulled a face. ‘Oh God! Should it be burning like this?’
‘It’s because the baby’s crowning and you’re going to feel it more with your next contraction. Are you sure you don’t want to try some gas and air?’ Ella glanced towards the mask hanging next to the cannister of Entonox at the side of the room, which most women would have been clinging on to for dear life by now.
‘I’ve got this far and I’d like to see if I can do it on my oh oh ownnnnnnn.’ Becky’s latest contraction overtook her final words and for a moment all she could do was groan again. When the contraction was finally over, Anna moved closer to her.
‘Okay sweetheart, I think now’s the time.’
‘I bloody hope it’s time, because if this isn’t it, I don’t think I can do it, with or without pain relief!’ There was nothing about Becky that gave away the fact she could probably snap her fingers and get anything she wanted. Admittedly, she was beautiful, even in the midst of labour, with high cheek bones and eyes the colour of amber, but there were no airs and graces about her. Or Luke come to that.
‘This is definitely it, don’t worry. Let’s get you into a position where you feel most comfortable, so you can meet your little girl.’ Ella moved to one side of the bed, while Luke stood on the other.
‘Hold on! I’ve got another contraction coming.’ Becky gritted her teeth and screwed up her face.
‘Try to pant through this one. I know that sounds impossible, but we don’t want you to start pushing until you’re ready.’ Ella tried not to wince as Becky grabbed hold of her hand, squeezing much harder than she’d have believed someone of her build possibly could. She was clearly made of much tougher stuff than she looked.
‘Oh God, this burning can’t really be normal, can it?’ Becky’s voice was filled with disbelief as the contraction finally eased.
‘I promise you it is. It probably doesn’t help, but some people call this bit the ring of life.’ Anna was standing at the end of the bed as Ella and Luke helped Becky to get into a position where she felt most comfortable. ‘And I can promise you something else too, it will all be worth it and you will forget all of this. I wanted to kill everyone who said that to me when I had the twins, but all I can think about now is seeing them for the first time.’
‘Right, let’s get this done then.’ Becky fixed Luke with a determined look. ‘Do you really think I can do it?’
‘Absolutely. You’re brilliant at everything.’ He rested a hand on his wife’s leg as she spoke and her face seemed to relax a bit.
‘Remind me again why I said no to the hospital and to taking every painkiller available?’
‘Because we didn’t want the world to see Pip before our family do and because you like to challenge yourself, so you decided you wanted to do this without pain relief. I did try to convince you that you didn’t have to—’
‘I’ve got another one!’ Becky cut her husband off, gripping his arm and instinctively dropping her chin to her chest.
‘That’s it, you’re doing brilliantly. Breathe down into it and your body will do the rest.’ Ella supported one of Becky’s legs, while Anna took hold of the other. The baby’s head was clearly visible now.
‘Just keep it up, Becky, you’re doing so well sweetheart.’ As Anna spoke, another contraction took hold. ‘That’s it, go with it, she’s nearly here.’
‘Oh darling, I can see her hair now; she’s got loads of it!’ Luke was already crying.
‘Can I have a look?’ Becky shifted position as the contraction eased off.
Ella turned towards Luke. ‘Is there a mirror anywhere we could use, so that Becky can see what’s going on?’
‘Most of them are fixed, but there’s a free-standing shaving mirror in the en suite.’
‘I’ll go and get it.’ Ella all but sprinted across the room and grabbed the mirror from the bathroom. By the time she got back, Becky was having another contraction. Once it was over, she positioned the mirror where she thought it would give Becky the clearest view. ‘There, can you see her now?’
‘This is it; she’s really nearly here, isn’t she?’ Becky turned to Luke, her eyes wide as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.
‘She is, darling, and it’s all down to you.’
‘Oh God. I need to push again, but I don’t want to look.’ Becky screwed up her eyes as Ella put the mirror aside, the other woman’s eyes flying open again with the strength of the contraction. ‘I really can’t do this any more.’
‘You already have! The baby’s head is out.’ Anna’s words were what they’d all been waiting to hear, but then Ella spotted something.
‘She’s got a nuchal cord.’ Ella kept her voice low, deliberately using the medical term to avoid making Becky or Luke panic about the fact that the umbilical cord was wrapped around their baby’s neck. It wasn’t uncommon during delivery, but for some reason all the blood seemed to have rushed to Ella’s feet and she felt suddenly dizzy. She held out a hand to steady herself, blinking several times in quick succession, trying to clear the fuzziness in her head.
‘Are you okay, or do you want me to sort it?’ Anna hadn’t missed the fact that Ella was struggling, but Ella knew she had to shake it off. She’d done this plenty of times; she was probably just tired, that was all.
‘Thank you, but it’s fine.’ Ella stepped forward. ‘Okay, Becky, if you get another contraction, I just need you to pant through it again this time, while I make sure the cord is safely out of the way.’
‘Is everything all right?’ Luke searched Ella’s face and she nodded.
‘It’s fine, I just need to move the cord a little bit to make it easier for your little girl and then you can meet her.’ Ella concentrated on sounding like this was all routine. It usually was, but when she attempted to slip her fingers under the cord to unwrap it from the baby’s neck, it immediately became obvious that it was too tight. Ella breathed out slowly; she had to keep calm even if she didn’t feel it. The last thing Becky and Luke needed was to see their midwife panicking, but there was no sugar coating this any more and she needed them to understand what was going on. ‘We’re going to have to do things slightly differently, and cut and clamp the baby’s cord a little bit earlier than usual because it’s around her neck. But it’s nothing to worry about.’
‘Oh God! This is all my fault; I should have just gone to the hospital.’ Despite Ella’s best attempts, Becky had instantly gone into panic mode.
‘It’s okay, she’ll be fine. Her head’s already out and she doesn’t need the placenta to breathe any more. You’ve been brilliant, you just need to pant through one more contraction and then you can push.’ Ella wasn’t going to tell them about what could happen if the cord restricted the baby’s breathing or tore away from the placenta. Neither of them needed to hear the worst-case scenario yet and hopefully they’d never have to know.
‘I’ve got another contraction coming and I’m scared I won’t be able to stop myself from pushing.’ Becky was clutching Luke’s arm again.
‘It’s okay, angel. Just look at me and breathe.’
‘That’s it, you’re doing great.’ It was almost as if Anna was trying to reassure Ella as well as Becky. She needed every bit of support her best friend was offering, because the clamp was suddenly swimming in front of her eyes. Blinking hard, she managed to cut the cord, but her vision still hadn’t cleared. Panic was rising up her spine again, but it wasn’t worry for the baby this time. Something weird was happening to Ella and whatever it was, it wasn’t right. She’d been telling herself for the last few weeks that the interruptions she’d been having to her vision, and the bouts of numbness that came and went, were nothing, but they’d been few and far between before. This felt different and she didn’t like it one little bit. She couldn’t let Becky or Anna down, though, so she painted on a smile.
‘Right, all done and that’s the cord clear. You can give it everything you’ve got with this next push.’ Ella stood back, blinking again and desperately trying to clear her vision as she turned towards Anna, feeling as if all the colour had drained from her face. ‘Can you take the lead on this bit?’
‘Of course.’ The concern on Anna’s face made it obvious that Ella looked as bad as she felt, but there was no chance for either of them to pause as another contraction started. ‘That’s it sweetheart, the shoulders are out now too. One more push should do it.’
‘I don’t want to stop pushing.’
‘Just do what your body tells you… That’s it, sweetheart, she’s here. Well done!’ Anna’s record of perfect catches was intact as she took hold of the baby, who let out a huge wail to announce her arrival into the world. Seconds later, Anna had laid the baby on her mother’s chest for skin-to-skin contact.
‘She’s perfect and so beautiful, Becky! Just like her mummy.’ Luke gently stroked his newborn daughter’s cheek. The little girl was already rooting around for a feed.
‘Congratulations to both of you; she really is beautiful.’ Anna smiled and Ella recognised the look in her eyes. This never stopped being a special moment for either of them.
‘She is absolutely perfect.’ Ella tried her best to mirror Anna’s smile, which would normally have come so easily, but for some reason her face didn’t seem to be working the way it should and seconds later, she felt as though she was swaying.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ Anna was suddenly standing in front of Ella, who nodded slowly, but it took all the concentration she had to answer her.
‘I just feel lightheaded and my vision’s a bit blurred. It’s probably just the start of a migraine. Bailey was a bit restless overnight while he was with us, and I was so worried about Lissy that I’ve barely slept for the last two nights. That’s all.’
‘Sit down for a minute, while I check the baby over, but if you still don’t feel right once the placenta has been delivered and we’re ready to go, I think I should take you to Truro to get checked over.’
‘I’ll be fine. I am fine.’ But if Ella was honest, she was trying to convince herself as much as Anna. She was sure it was nothing, just stress and tiredness that was all. Once things were back to normal with Lissy and the wedding was out of the way, all the strange symptoms would go away. She was sure of it.