The Midwife's Christmas Miracle (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 5)

They’d shared a kiss and now he was annoyed because he felt that she’d deceived him. And that suited her fine because she didn’t want his approval. Really, she didn’t.

By tomorrow the damage to his ego would have faded and she’d be just another member of staff. And that was what she wanted. Absolutely.

Too tired even to take her clothes off, she flopped back onto the pillow, pulled the duvet over herself and fell into a deep sleep.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE unit was already busy when she arrived the next morning. ‘I can’t believe the number of women who came in last night,’ Ruth muttered as she checked the whiteboard and added another name. ‘I’m going to need you in Room 3, Miranda, if that’s OK. Daisy Priest. Really nice lady, but it’s her first baby and she’s a bit nervous. Her waters have broken but she’s still only two centimetres dilated so I think you’re in for a long one. Mr Hardwick is her consultant, but she’s not very likely to need him.’

There was something in Ruth’s tone that made Miranda give her a second look, but the older woman had already hurried on to the next topic. From her own point of view, Miranda was relieved that Jake wasn’t Daisy’s consultant. Not that he was likely to get involved in a normal delivery, but at least it meant that she was guaranteed a day where she didn’t have to bump into him. A day to gather herself together after the conflict of the previous day.

‘No problem.’

‘Call me if you need any help. Oh, by the way…’ Ruth gave a quick frown ‘…she has a doula called Annie, with her. Nice lady. She’s been in here before.’

Miranda nodded, knowing that a doula was someone who accompanies a woman in labour, giving her emotional support during childbirth. “OK. Thanks, Ruth.”

‘No problem.’ Visibly stressed by pressure of work and lack of staff, Ruth hurried off to greet a woman who had just been transferred from the antenatal ward and Miranda walked down the corridor to find Daisy.

She was a woman in her twenties with a mass of curling blonde hair, and she was deep in conversation with an older woman who seemed to ooze calm and serenity.

Miranda introduced herself and Daisy looked at her anxiously.

‘I hope you don’t mind me bringing Annie, my doula. I know that not many women do, and—’

‘That’s fine,’ Miranda reassured her quickly. ‘Actually, where I trained in London, quite a few women used doulas. I think it’s lovely for a pregnant woman to have the extra support.’

‘It’s just that I wanted someone familiar with me,’ Daisy explained, ‘and my husband Callum is hopeless with anything medical. Useless. He’s downstairs in the shop, buying us a stock of magazines, because he couldn’t stand witnessing a contraction. How pathetic is that?’

Miranda smiled and picked up Daisy’s notes from the table. ‘It can be very hard for a man to watch his wife in pain,’ she said quietly, ‘and I quite understand the need for a familiar and friendly face while you deliver.’

She knew from past experience that doulas were there to ‘mother the mother’ rather than offer advice on delivery and she had no problems at all with Annie being part of the process.

‘I’ve read everything there is to read and watched everything there is to watch,’ Daisy told Miranda, and then gave a grin. ‘Don’t look like that. The one thing that the books warn you about is that labour rarely goes according to plan. Annie keeps telling me that I’ve got to stay relaxed and go with the flow. I’m

glad she’s here because, to be perfectly honest, I find Mr Hardwick, the consultant, really scary. He always seems cross.’

Miranda put down the notes she’d been reading. ‘I haven’t actually met him, but I’m sure he isn’t cross. Perhaps just a bit serious. I see you’re hoping for a water birth?’

Daisy nodded. ‘I love the idea of being in the water. I swam every day in my pregnancy. One of my friends gave birth in water and she loved it. Do you think it’s possible?’

‘Absolutely, although we won’t want you to get into the water too soon or it might slow your labour down. And we might ask you to leave the water for the actual delivery.’ Miranda made a mental note to check on the hospital policy for water births.

‘That’s fine. I don’t care about that.’ Daisy screwed up her face and gritted her teeth. ‘Ouch. That’s really starting to hurt.’

‘Remember your breathing, Daisy.’ Annie put her arm round the younger woman’s shoulders. ‘Breathe through the contraction.’

Miranda slid a hand over Daisy’s abdomen to feel the strength of the contraction and talked quietly to her as she gave a little moan of pain and clenched her fists. Finally she relaxed. ‘It’s going off now…’ She breathed out heavily. ‘Why did it sound so easy during antenatal class? They made you feel as though you could cope with anything, but the truth is that the pain takes you over.’

‘Lots of women say that.’ Miranda stood up. ‘That was a pretty strong contraction. You might find the water comforting. Have you considered any other forms of pain relief?’

‘I just want to try the water to start with,’ Daisy said firmly, glancing at Annie for reassurance. ‘I know that I might need something more and if I do then that’s fine, but just for now I want to see how I go. I suppose I’m afraid that if I plan something else, I might grab it instead of managing.’

‘So…’ Miranda sat down on the chair next to the bed and gave a smile. ‘Have you painted the nursery?’

Daisy gave a dreamy smile. ‘It’s perfect. You should see it. Primrose yellow with such pretty curtains…’

They talked and Miranda monitored her, and halfway through the morning she slipped out to talk to Ruth about the hospital policy on water birth.