Chapter 273: Chapter 240: Delivering a Baby

"Mr. Lin, Mr. Lin..."

"Sir, what’s the matter?"

Lin Miao was about to close the clinic and go home for dinner when suddenly a young man burst in, running all the way to the consultation point.

"My, my wife can’t, she can’t give birth..." the man stammered, sweating profusely as he spoke.

"Sir, I’m a physician, not a midwife. If your wife can’t give birth, you should find a midwife..."

"Midwives don’t work, I’ve already found three..." the man said anxiously, holding up three fingers.

Lin Miao was in a difficult position. Although delivering babies wasn’t unfamiliar to him, there was the issue of gender separation. As a male physician, assisting with a woman’s childbirth might raise issues of "propriety and laws."

It wasn’t like at the Heaven-Reaching Temple, where he helped the nun named Jing Hui give birth. She had already seen through worldly conventions and didn’t mind.

"Mr. Lin, I beg you, please save my wife and child!" Seeing Lin Miao hesitating, the man knelt down with a "thud" and kowtowed.

"Sir, please stand up, let’s talk while you’re up..."

No matter what Lin Miao said, the man continued to kneel on the ground, kowtowing and begging Lin Miao to save his wife. Sun Youwei, watching from the side, was moved: "Junior Brother, why don’t you help this man?"

"Senior Sister, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but I’m an unmarried man. How can I assist a woman in childbirth? This involves touching private areas, and you know the gender barriers..." Lin Miao said.

Even in the hospitals of my past life, although male gynecologists became normal, women still generally preferred female gynecologists, unless it was surgery. But that was only after society had progressed to accept it.

In today’s society, accepting a man to assist in childbirth, even if it succeeded in the end, what would happen afterward if the woman believed being touched by a man other than her husband made her impure?

If she couldn’t get past it and gossip spread, it could become a life-threatening issue.

"This..."

"No, Mr. Lin, as long as you can save my wife and child, I won’t blame you, and besides, you’re saving lives, not doing anything else!" the man said hurriedly.

"Alright, I can go, but you have to sign a consent form, and I can’t guarantee that I can save your wife and child." Lin Miao thought for a moment. Although risky, compared to the lives of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, it seemed minor.

But he also needed to protect himself to avoid being backstabbed. He didn’t want to gamble on someone’s character.

"Senior Sister, please invite Guan Biyun over to be a witness!"

Lin Miao drafted a consent form, let the man read it, signed voluntarily, and pressed his handprint, then went with Sun Youwei to the man’s house.

Guan Biyun was curious. Lin Miao, an unmarried man, knew how to deliver babies? That was incredible.

She, as a female doctor, didn’t even know this specialized skill. But after three unsuccessful midwives, they had to seek Lin Miao’s help.

"Son, why did you just come back? Xiaocui is in critical condition..." the old couple said anxiously when they saw their son return home.

"Ah, Xiaocui!"

"Mr. Lin, how did you come here..." The old couple recognized Lin Miao, though he did not recognize them.

"Your son invited me to help your daughter-in-law deliver the baby," Lin Miao said truthfully.

"You know how to deliver?" The old man trembled with surprise.

"Just a little bit, I’ll go in and take a look." Lin Miao went straight past the old couple and headed for the delivery room.

For most cases of difficult childbirth, it could be due to misaligned position, a large fetus, or the umbilical cord around the neck. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The first two are relatively easier to solve, but if the umbilical cord is around the neck, the challenge is much bigger. There’s no better solution than a cesarean section.

The easiest method for a difficult childbirth is a C-section. However, the knowledge and technical levels of this era are not enough to support such a surgery.

Infant mortality was common, and as a physician, it was challenging to advance such techniques. Tragedies like Xiaolian’s were far too common.

Some things can only advance as society progresses.

In the low bedroom, a heavily pregnant woman lay on the bed, drenched, her hair sticking to her body, with a pale complexion and labored breathing.

An old woman, likely the midwife, was wringing her hands anxiously, helpless and standing by, faced with a situation she seemed not to have encountered in her years of experience.

Seeing a young man come in, she was startled: "What are you doing here? This isn’t the place for men, leave immediately..."

"I am a physician, here to help this lady," Lin Miao said solemnly, introducing his purpose.

"A physician? I’ve never heard of a physician delivering babies. Just leave!" the midwife said discontentedly, but did not dare to kick him out since Sun Youwei, Guan Biyun, and Lien Yurou came in afterward.

"Senior Sister, bring a bowl of honey water for the pregnant woman," Lin Miao instructed. "Make sure it’s warm."

"Alright." Sun Youwei nodded and put down the medical kit.

Honey or brown sugar water can quickly help the pregnant woman regain energy. Clearly, she was exhausted at this point.

"You, you..." realizing nobody was listening to her, the midwife tried to stop them but was halted by Guan Biyun, who said, "You’ve been delivering babies for so long and still couldn’t help the woman give birth. We don’t need you here anymore, please leave."

The midwife quivered with anger but, seeing she was outnumbered, and definitely invited by the hosts, left grumpily.

"Madam, once you leave, don’t spread rumors. My senior sister is delivering the baby, and I’m only here to help the woman regain strength," Lin Miao warned the midwife sternly.

"Hmph!" the midwife snorted coldly, likely ignoring the advice, as such people do not listen to persuasion.

But, as long as she doesn’t provoke me, otherwise she will regret it.

"Mrs. Tong, can you still speak?"

"Mr. Lin, thank you..."

"You know me?"

"You forgot, you prescribed me the fetus-preserving medicine and said I was carrying a dragon and phoenix twin..." Mrs. Tong said intermittently.

As Mrs. Tong said this, Lin Miao immediately remembered. He had seen so many patients, but only one woman was carrying twins. That day, he even gave a short lesson on the pulse of pregnant women at night, and this case was included in his Medical Case Collection. Only months had passed, and considering the time, she was indeed about to give birth.

No wonder when he entered, he noticed that the pregnant woman’s belly was somewhat unusual; she was carrying a pair of dragon and phoenix twins.

"I understand. Don’t worry," Lin Miao reassured her.

Lin Miao checked her pulse and touched Mrs. Tong’s belly. He wasn’t in a position to press his ear against it but could use a self-made stethoscope to listen.

If the fetuses are still alive, he would be able to hear them, and his hearing was extraordinarily keen.

He could roughly determine the condition of the fetuses.

Fortunately, he could hear both fetuses’ heartbeats, indicating they were still alive, which was very fortunate. Generally, if labor is delayed, fetuses can easily suffocate and die in the womb, and the mother would also be in considerable danger, such as amniotic fluid embolism.

If amniotic fluid embolism occurred, given the current medical conditions, he wouldn’t be able to save her.

He fed Mrs. Tong some honey water.

Lin Miao roughly assessed the fetal position and checked Mrs. Tong’s condition. He found her pelvic structure to be small, and the baby might be relatively large, especially the first one’s head, which was quite big, blocking the birth canal.

Her strength was insufficient to support the delivery, so she was unable to smoothly push the baby out.

"Senior sister, sterilize. The exit is too small, we must make a small cut..."

"A cut?" Sun Youwei was stunned.

"Yes, use a knife to make a small cut. It doesn’t have to be large, just about two fingers wide is enough. I’ll guide you, don’t be afraid," Lin Miao instructed.

Sun Youwei glanced at Lin Miao and nodded, understanding that she needed to handle such situations in the future.

"Don’t worry, Mrs. Tong, this cut won’t affect your future normal life. I will stitch it up afterwards, it will be inside, invisible externally," Lin Miao explained.

A hint of red appeared on Mrs. Tong’s pale face. After drinking half a bowl of honey water, her strength gradually returned.

"Guan, help me hold Mrs. Tong’s legs in place, Yurou, wipe Mrs. Tong’s sweat. Okay, senior sister, get ready for the incision!"

"Junior brother, I’m here!"

Sun Youwei focused, looked up at Lin Miao, and gently slid the small round-headed knife in!

Lin Miao quickly adjusted the fetal position on Mrs. Tong’s belly, then commanded her to push.

"Ah!"

Mrs. Tong opened her mouth and shouted, and a chubby baby smoothly slid out of the birth canal. Sun Youwei caught it with both hands, her hands trembling with excitement.

A single, unmarried woman, she couldn’t believe she had personally delivered a baby.

A new life was born in her hands.

"Junior brother, why isn’t this baby crying?" The baby was out, but it made no sound, which wasn’t good.

"No problem, I’ll handle it." Lin Miao directly took a needle from the medical kit and gave the baby a firm jab on the buttocks.

Soon after, the baby cried out with a "Wah!"

The Tong family members waiting outside the door heard the baby’s cry inside the room, and the family of three knelt down in unison.

However, the midwife hadn’t left; she wanted to see how a physician could deliver a baby. Delivering babies was the midwife’s job, why was a physician taking her job?

She had hoped the chaos inside would amount to nothing, that ultimately there would be two lives lost.

But shortly after entering the room, the woman gave birth, which was a slap in her face, making her lose face and leave directly.

Mrs. Tong first gave birth to a girl, the elder sister.

After the first was born, the second was much easier, and as the second was also smaller, it came out smoothly.

The second was indeed a boy.

Lin Miao’s initial assessment that Mrs. Tong was carrying twins, and specifically dragon and phoenix twins, was precisely accurate.

The girl weighed roughly over six pounds, while the boy was smaller at less than five, but considering Mrs. Tong’s frame.

These babies were quite large.

Lin Miao deduced that since the Tong family learned they were expecting dragon and phoenix twins, they had taken extra care, ensuring good nutrition, allowing the babies to develop well in the womb, which led to this difficult childbirth.

Fortunately, all three - mother, daughter, and son - were now safe.

Lin Miao instructed Sun Youwei to stitch up the wound, then went out to notify the Tong family of the good news. Since they had been aware of the twin pregnancy, they were well-prepared, with two sets of swaddling clothes ready, so everything was in order.

"Congratulations, Mr. Tong, both mother and children are safe!"

"Really?" Mr. Tong was excited, his eyes reddened, and the elderly couple was secretly wiping tears. The daughter-in-law had given birth to a son and daughter, which was joyous news!

If their son hadn’t insisted on inviting Lin Miao, this joyful event could have turned into a tragedy.