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Father Doing Well. They found Paula, a chunky, black-haired woman, sprawled on the only bed, her head thrust back in agony. While Dr. Martin examined her for signs of toxemia or a breech (butt-or feetfirst) delivery, the rest of the team spread newspapers over the furniture and set up equipment in the tiny kitchen. As they worked, Benjamin, the father, hovered anxiously in the background. A faulty electric fan started a fire, which Benjamin hastily put out.
After 5½ hours, Paula's time came. The nurse reported to Dr. Martin: "The baby's crowning a nickel's worth," i.e., showing just a bit of its head. Minutes later, Paula gave birth to a healthy, 7½-lb. daughter. But the mother was hemorrhaging badly. Dr. Martin called the center for an emergency "wrecking crew." Within 20 minutes, a second doctor and nurse arrived with whole blood and plasma. Three hours later, assured that neither Paula nor her baby would suffer further complications, the crew was ready for another mission.
Not all home deliveries are as critical as Paula's. But, making ten to 20 sorties a day, the delivery teams come up against many an unforeseen crisis. One night a team raced to a grimy cottage to find a young Italian woman about to have her first child. She was screaming with pain; worse, her husband's nerves had cracked. Brandishing a pistol, he locked the door, announced that he would kill the doctors unless the baby was delivered safely by midnight. Wasting no time in argument, the team got on with the job and delivered twin boys well before the deadline. Looking from the bed, the doctor found that the father had fainted.