The Doctor's Runaway Bride. Sarah Morgan

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      Now that the pain had gone, Dawn’s face regained some of its colour and she was a great deal happier.

      ‘Will I still be able to push the baby out?’

      ‘We’ll certainly aim for that,’ Tia told her, checking her blood pressure again and recording it on the chart. ‘As you progress towards the end of the first stage of your labour, we’ll let the epidural wear off so that you can feel to push.’

      It was towards the end of her shift when Dawn started pushing and the baby was delivered normally, with the minimum of fuss. Tia quietly praised Kim who had performed a textbook delivery.

      ‘I can’t believe it’s all over.’ Dawn collapsed, exhausted, her face pale. ‘I can’t believe we’ve got a little girl. We’ve only thought of boys’ names, haven’t we, Ken?’

      Her husband gave a shaky laugh. ‘We’d better start thinking fast.’

      Tia gave an absent smile, her eyes on the student midwife. The placenta wasn’t coming away as quickly as it should and Kim was obviously concerned. Tia knew that with the use of oxytocic drugs and controlled cord traction, the third stage of labour—the delivery of the placenta—was usually completed in ten minutes in the majority of labours.

      In Dawn’s case they were well past ten minutes and Tia was well aware that there was a danger of bleeding if the placenta was retained.