Back soon. Don’t worry.
She placed it on the middle of the coffee table where he would see it. Then she went over to the bookcase and pulled out her midwifery book, which she placed on the table next to the note. Hopefully, he’d understand what she was telling him.
Half an hour later, she was outside the apartment on the other side of the city. A man in his late twenties yanked open the door, his face pale with worry. ‘Thank God you’re here. I’m Richard Bauer. My wife, Annelise, has been in labour since yesterday morning. Her waters broke.’ He ran a hand down his face.
Clara stepped inside and placed a steadying hand on his arm. ‘Richard, I need you to stay calm for Annelise. How far along in her pregnancy is she?’
‘Eight and half months.’
‘I need hot water and clean sheets. I need to wash my hands.’
‘I’ve already boiled the water. Here.’ He signalled to the kitchen on the left of the hallway.
Clara was impressed he’d had the foresight to anticipate the need for hot water. She scrubbed her hands with soap. ‘They are moving people out all the time,’ he explained. ‘It’s like they disappear. It will be us soon.’
Her hands now clean and dry, Clara went into the bedroom. The young woman on the bed, Annelise, looked pale and drawn. She raised a smile at the sight of Clara. ‘Thank you for coming,’ she said. Her voice sounded thin and weak.
‘I need to examine you,’ said Clara gently, as she slipped into her professional midwife role. She may not be at Charité Hospital, she may not be wearing the uniform she had once been so proud of, but she was still a midwife.
It didn’t take Clara long to establish the problem. ‘The baby’s head has crowned,’ she said, keeping her voice calm. She didn’t add that the baby appeared to be stuck, not able to get its shoulders through. Annelise began to tense. ‘Contraction?’ asked Clara. Annelise nodded. ‘Just breathe through it. Nice and steady. In through your nose .?.?. that’s it .?.?. now release slowly through your mouth.’
Clara tried to manoeuvre the baby once the contraction had passed, but nothing she did made the slightest bit of difference. She was concerned now the baby would be in distress.
‘Is it all right?’ asked Richard.
Again, Clara nodded, exuding calm and control. The last thing anyone wanted with a difficult birth was the parents panicking. ‘Bring me the boiling water,’ she instructed Richard, who immediately did as requested. ‘Annelise,’ said Clara. ‘I’m going to have to make a small cut so we can get your baby out. Is that all right?’
Annelise’s eyes widened, and the fear was evident. ‘Do what you need to,’ she said.
Richard returned with the boiling water and Clara went about sterilising the scissors, needles and thread. She gave Richard more instructions to bring fresh towels. It was good to keep him busy.
Clara soon had everything laid out next to her. She looked up at Annelise. ‘When the next contraction comes, I’m going to make an incision. It will sting but I don’t want you to focus on that. All you need to do is think about your breathing and when I say, you push down hard. As hard as you can so we can get the baby out. Understand?’
‘Yes,’ replied Annelise. She winced. ‘Contraction,’ she said as she began to draw in a long slow breath through her nose.
‘Richard, please hold Annelise,’ said Clara. She waited for the contraction to build before making the cut. ‘Push. Push. Push.’
The baby moved and Clara turned it, releasing the shoulders. And then within seconds the child was born. It had a slightly bluish tint to it, but Clara quickly wiped its face, making sure the airways were clear. The baby took its first breath and cried out. This moment never failed to move Clara. She never got over how privileged she was to bring a baby safely into the world.
‘Richard, I need you here,’ she said as she wrapped a cloth around the baby and passed it to him. ‘Annelise, I just need another push to deliver the placenta. You’re nearly finished.’
A minute later the placenta was delivered intact, much to Clara’s relief, and she clipped and cut the umbilical cord. Richard was sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, staring down at his child. ‘I think your wife would like to see her baby,’ she said with a smile as Richard snapped out of the trance he was in.
‘Annelise,’ he said softly taking the baby to her. ‘We have a son.’
Clara smiled as she watched the young couple shed tears of joy, cuddling one another and their son. ‘I’m sorry but I need to make a stitch where I had to cut you,’ she said. ‘It’s a clean cut and should heal nicely.’
Once she had finished, she washed her hands and carried out an examination of the baby. Everything was as it should be. ‘You have a very healthy son,’ she said. ‘I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Congratulations to both of you. Do you know what you’re going to call him?’
‘He is Isaac,’ Annelise said proudly.
‘Welcome to the world, Isaac,’ she said, handing the baby back to his parents, wrapped now in a fresh cloth and blanket. ‘May you grow strong and know only peace.’ It was a blessing she always said when a baby was born but today the words had a poignancy like never before.
She left the Bauer family alone while she went into the kitchen where she packed away her things and made a cup of coffee and some toast for Annelise. She stayed for another hour to make sure both mother and baby were fine, and ensuring Annelise was confident in getting the baby to latch on to her breast to feed. Richard had fetched David and Hannah Rothstein from their apartment next door to join the celebrations, however muted they might be.
‘Well, when I woke up this morning, I didn’t expect to be sitting here with a new baby,’ said Clara as she sipped her own coffee.
‘It will be Hannah’s turn next,’ said Annelise, smiling at her neighbour.
