Midwifery In Action

Writers: Heather, Jelena
Date Posted: 31st January 2012

Characters: Parme, Lorey, Edmun
Description: Lorey goes into labor and is escorted by her husband Edmun to Parme's care.
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 6, day 5 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentor Approved

"I'm fine, Edmun," Lorey sighed for the millionth time that day as she
swatted away her husband's hands while he tried to escort her from the
Dining Hall, "I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own. Just because
I can't remember what my feet look like, and I'm trusting that you're
not dressing me in hideous shoes or socks, doesn't mean I can't walk."

Edmun looked less than sure of his wife's statement as he took in to
factor her large, rotund stomach that nearly needed its own living
quarters it was so big, "I'm just trying to help, love," he assured
her, "I know you can walk on your own but I think you forget the sheer
_size_ of your stomach now."

Lorey's eyes narrowed instantly, her brilliant blue orbs cutting at
the man, "Excuse me? Are you calling me big? Let's see _you_ carry a
baby, hm?" The woman began waddling away as quick as her stomach would
allow, one of her slender hands pressed to the side of it.

**Great, just great.** Edmun could have kicked himself. Ever since
Lorey had gotten into the final stages of her pregnancy he'd done
nothing but put his foot into his mouth. Edmun followed along
dutifully after Lorey, knowing that he would need to be there to open
the door for her when they arrived back to their quarters.

"I mean, I'm not _fat_, it's just baby -" Lorey gasped in the middle
of her sentence, her spine stiffening as she froze in place.

"Lorey?" Edmun was at her side in a moment.

"It's.. It's.." She gasped.

"The baby?" Edmun finished stupidly.

"Yes!"

In one swift motion Edmun had Lorey swept into his arms and was
carrying her as quickly as his long strides would take him towards the
midwife's. She'd been seeing Parme for a while now, although Edmun had
always been a bit leery of a midwife. He knew they were common place,
of course, it was just that his father had been a healer so he felt
rather biased about the entire matter.

"Lady Parme?" He called even as he nudged the door to the woman's
quarters open with the toe of his boot.

"Yes, dear?" Parme called out as she recognized the voice at the door.
He had probably come with some concerns again, as the typical father
to be. Not that Parme didn't take a father's concerns seriously,
especially not when the lady was so advanced in her pregnancy, but it
still made her grin. Ironically enough, men could be such babies when
it came to child-bearing! Edmun was a good man, though, and Parme
adored his wife even more. Hopefully, she could help the pair bring a
healthy baby into the world.

"I think she's in labor!" Edmun called out, his worried eyes looking
down into the face of his wife, a face twisted in discomfort as her
slender hands fisted into the front of his tunic.

"Well, I would think you are right." Parme said as a grin spread on
her face when she saw the pair in her doorway. "Come in, I've got a
bed ready for her. Or do you want to do this in your own home, dear?"
Parme asked as she looked at the pained young woman with sympathy in
her eyes.

Edmun and Lorey shared a look before Edmun spoke, "Do we have time for
me to get her to our room?" He questioned, not sure how quickly these
... 'birthings' took place.

"Plenty of time," Parme laughed cheerfully. She placed a hand on the
shoulder of the father-to-be and looked at him kindly. "This is going
to take a while, so you might as well relax." Turning her attention to
Lorey, she smiled. "How are you holding up? Your water hasn't broken
yet, has it? Contractions are still far apart?"

Lorey nodded at the woman's questions, "They are but they hurt so
much! Is it suppose to be _this_ bad?" She asked, thinking now that it
probably would have been a good idea to be present when her sisters
had had their children.

"It's perfectly normal, honey," Parme said, brushing a strand of hair
out of the woman's face fondly. "I know it's scary, but just think
about that baby of yours. You will forget all about the pain when you
have your baby in your arms, trust me." She smiled at Lorey again,
before looking up at Edmun. "Why don't you take her to your cot, get
her settled in? I will collect my things and follow straight after."

"Yes ma'am." Edmun agreed with a quick nod of his head as he retreated
out of the midwife's room and quickly carried is wife towards their
quarters.

"Help get this dress off me." Lorey said once Edmun placed her on the
bed, her fingers making quick work on the buttons that traveled down
the front.

Between the two of them, they had Lorey in nothing but her shift, and
tucked beneath the blankets in record time, both eagerly awaiting
Parme's arrival.

Still back at her cot, Parme had arranged for Meshel to look after
Elson while she was away. Talma would be coming with her for her
training. When they had gathered what they needed for the birth of the
newest Sunstone Seahold resident, they made their way to Edmun and
Lorey's quarters. Knocking on the door, Parme placed one hand on her
daughter's shoulder and waited for Edmun to let them in.

By this point Lorey was starting to moan, grunt, and shriek in pain..
loudly! Edmun was quickly beginning to lose all facade of being a 'big
tough man' and when he heard the knock at the door he raced towards
the wooden structure and jerked it open, "Thank Faranth you're here!"
He said when he saw Parme, "Please come in, please come in!" He
stepped aside.

"Parme I hope that's you!" Lorey called, "Edmun's been absolutely no
help whatsoever!"

"Yes, it's me, dear," Parme called back in good humor as she stepped
through the door, closely followed by her daughter who was carrying a
bag. "And don't worry, it's a man's job to be absolutely useless with
births. He's doing just fine." She placed a hand on Edmun's shoulder
and gave it a squeeze. "It's going to be fine, try to relax."

"Errr, right, relax." Edmun breathed to himself.

-=-

Edmun smiled, beaming proudly as he stood over Lorey's shoulder as she
held their son to her chest. The man was sure that he'd never seen
anything as perfect or as beautiful as _his_ child. Usually Edmun
found babies to be very strangle looking little beings with scrunched
up faces and horrible smells... but not _his_ son. Oh no, his son was
already quite the looker, he'd concluded.

"Thank you again, Parme." Lorey said, lifting her hand to take the
midwife's in a show of gratitude.

Taking Lorey's hand gently, Parme gave her one of her most radiant
smiles. "You did all the work, dear, and you did wonderfully," she
said softly. "Enjoy your little fellow. I'll drop in tomorrow morning
to see how you are all doing, alright?" With that, the midwife packed
up her things, said her goodbyes and left for her cot with her
daughter. Sunstone Seahold had another little resident and Parme was
ever so proud she had been there to welcome him into the world. It was
what made her job one of the most wonderful things in the world.

Last updated on the January 31st 2012

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