Last Tango in Toulouse by Mary Moody Read Free Book Online

first and most important being that there didn’t appear to be a trained homebirth midwife operating in the district. The escalating cost of insurance has had a profound effect on independent midwives all over Australia, making it almost impossible for them to afford to practise – a similar situation to the one facing obstetricians in the private medical system, especially in rural areas.Miriam and Rick were also rather strapped for cash, having just moved into a larger house and living on a single income with three hungry boys to feed. Homebirths are not covered by many private medical funds or even by Medicare, so those who opt for a home delivery must scrape together several thousand dollars to cover the midwifery fees. Lastly, Miriam had decided that, as she was so exhausted, a quick trip to hospital and back would be less work than having a home delivery. There’s a great deal of mess to consider when you squat down and have a baby in the front room – groundsheets and dropsheets and water baths and medical equipment. It takes precision planning and organisation by the family, their support system and the midwife, and Miriam wasn’t feeling up to it. She just wanted to pop this baby out then come home to a clean, quiet house with her darling family all around.
    Usually, Miriam goes into labour about a week ahead of the due date, but this time she went full term and then nearly two weeks overdue. Each day the baby seemed to grow larger, making it difficult for her to walk, let alone bath and feed the other children or do any housework. Thank heavens I was around to help on the home front. As the days drifted by we discussed possible reasons for the late arrival – and finally I ventured to suggest that perhaps this baby didn’t want to be born in hospital. There are so many factors involved in the onset of spontaneous labour and even to this day the medical profession doesn’t really understand what triggers those first few genuine contractions. Miriam was having plenty of strong tightening sensations but established labour simply didn’t want to kick in. In desperation we began to search for a midwife who might be persuaded to do a homebirth – I even offered to cover the fee should it be required.
    After several hours on the phone we discovered a community midwife who once did homebirths in the district but was eventually squeezed out because of the insurance situation. She kindly came to visit and agreed that she would be prepared to deliver the baby at home, but there was one small hitch – all her delivery equipment was locked inside the community medical clinic and she wouldn’t be able to retrieve it until Monday morning. It was Saturday, and the clinic closed for the weekend. We decided that if nothing happened before Monday, we would proceed with the homebirth plan. Miriam suddenly seemed so much more relaxed and happy and we began making practical preparations for a home delivery – baking bundles of sheets and towels in the oven, wrapped in brown paper, and preparing a sterile pack of tiny clothes for the newborn; exactly the same preparations we had made together three times before. Even though Miriam and Rick had felt quite comfortable with the idea of going to hospital, they were now thrilled at the prospect of changing their plans at the last minute and having the baby at home.
    On Saturday night we fell into bed early, reasonably exhausted. Miriam hadn’t been sleeping well because of the size of the infant. She couldn’t get comfortable, and needed to get up and walk around from time to time when her back ached or erratic contractions woke her. I was woken at dawn by three small boys clambering over my bed and the family’s overexcited Jack Russell terrier bouncing on my head. We tried to pass the Sunday as quietly as possible, with Miriam alternating between resting and walking. Rick took the boys to the park for a few hours and I continued