"I just loved breastfeeding." "And you know what's great?" "You can eat whatever you want and not gain weight." "And it's good for the baby." "Did you know you can nurse past menopause?" "As long at the nipples get enough attention, it reactivates the hormones." "Neuroendocrine reflex." "Oh no, that's something else." "Honey, do you have my sweetener?" "Sure, Mom." "is there very much protein in tofu?" "It's tempeh." "It's full of it." "Vivian's been thinking of trying Atkins." "Don't eat that." "You'll get gas for days." "So you weren't crazy about this last doctor either." "Ma." "He had us wait two hours." "He only gave us five minutes." "He didn't even look me in the eye." "It's too bad you didn't like Richard Sohn." "He's been treating me for years." "His niece tried a manslaughter case in my court last week." "She looks wonderful." "You remember her." "It was a terrible case." "This woman starved her baby to death feeding it wheatgrass lt's lucky she had a jury trial." "I'd have locked her up." "I'm going to see a midwife." "At which hospital?" "It's an independent clinic." "It's self-contained." "There's a reason people have babies in hospitals." " Son:" "We're just checking it out." " She's the best midwife working." "Madeline was her assistant professor at Amesley." "The best is in a hospital." "I do know a little bit about this, you know." "So do I." "I'm trying to keep an open mind about this." "I know." "Anybody breaks out a power crystal, we're leaving." "Deal." "Hello?" "I think we're in the wrong place." "Could be." "I'm Shelly, the labor doula and chief assistant midwife." "I assist Patty with all the births." "Sit down." "Let me grab her." "Have a cookie." "They're vegan." "Great." "Herbal." "Hi, Maddy." "You look great." "Um, this is my husband Michael." " Hi." " Hi." " Did you get a cookie?" " No, not yet." "She told you they were vegan, didn't she?" "I swear they are fantastic." "We keep the focus on you and your baby." "Not just the birth, but those crucial first moments too." "It's beautiful." "Those first interactions between you and your baby are so powerful." "They create biochemical responses that we don't even understand." "The sensitive period-- it's birth psychology." "Mm-hmm." "I'm sure you have some questions." " Are you a licensed doctor?" " l have a PhD in holistic obstetrics." "I also spent five years training in a dozen different Eastern healing modalities," " in Nepal, Thailand" " Medical doctor, I meant." " l have an MD from Columbia." " l didn't see any degrees." "The less this place looks like a hospital, the better." "Just no reason to medicalize a perfect process." "See, if I break my leg, I'm not going to get a chiropractor to set it." "But with pregnancy, there's nothing broken." "But things do get broken in the process." "Mostly at hospitals." "Here." "All the stats are all in there." "The studies are all state-funded." "Nothing is private." "Medical interventions can be miraculous, but not everybody needs a miracle." "Most of the time they just create complications and we end up treating the treatment." ""Mothers are three to six times more likely to die delivering in a hospital than a midwife-supervised clinic or home birth." lt's on page 14." "Madeline, you said you had taken fertility drugs." "Yeah, for three years." "But I'd been off them for 11 months before she came." "We got pregnant twice, but" "Hey." "I'm sorry." "Here." "You have nothing to be sorry about." "With proper care, these cows could supply Grade A milk..." "Oh, Jonesy." "I have nice food for you right here." "Mm-mm." "Thanks for doing this." "Ahh." " No." " No?" "Jonesy killed another rat today." "Can't feed him soy milk." "You're driving him to murder." "Did you take the car in?" "$2,000 later it's still making the same noise." "Should have never bought an SUV." "It's a hybrid." " Ooh." " Are you okay?" "It's just gas or something." "I bought Patricia Lang's book." "She thanked you in the forward and you two were really close." "Yeah, I learned a lot from her." "She was a really amazing teacher." "Some of her stuff is pretty far out." "She revolutionized Women's Studies." "We had a two-year wait list for her class at Amesley." "Hmm." "Michael, we have an answering machine." "It's Ma. I'll grab it in the kitchen." "Oooh." "Ahhh." "Ah." " Michael?" " Michael?" " Ow, my chest." " What's happening?" " Can you move?" " Call Patricia." " ls something wrong with Madeline?" " Ma, I have to go." "Don't call Dr. Sohn." "We're going to the ER." "is this the first time she's had chest pains, sir?" " Yeah, as far as I know." " Okay, let's get some levels on her." "It's all right, Michael." "It's all right." "Richard Sohn, what, are you slumming?" "The mother-in-law called me." "She's a friend of the family." "Your mother's on her way back from Hillbrook." " She'll be here in a hour." " We giving you some trouble, Dick?" "Yes, well, par for the course in my line." "So what do we have?" "Upper-right quadrant pain, elevated blood-- this is pre-eclampsia." "We're going to need to induce." "We need to induce right now." " No, she's only 31 weeks." " Let's get three 35mcg vaginal doses of cytotec." "We're inducing." " No no." "No!" " What's that?" " Mike, Mike, I'll take care of her." " No." "Call Patricia." "Michael, please!" " He's not her doctor, Ma." " Michael, I am not discussing this." "Well, you shouldn't have sent him in the first place." "Hello?" "Ma!" " Shit." " ls she okay?" "They said it was something-- pre-- pre-eclampsia?" "If it's pre-eclampsia the only thing they can do is deliver." "What happened?" "We were having dinner and she just started complaining." "She called my name." "I was in the other room." " Where is she?" " All the way down on the far left." "is there blood?" "She just said it felt like gas, like in her chest." " Okay, what about her breathing?" " Pretty even." "It was higher because she was in pain, but I don't think it was bad." " Get off me!" " Hold her down." " What the hell is going on?" " You can't be in here." " You can't be in here, miss." " l'm her midwife." " lt's too soon." " Why isn't she sedated?" " Where's the pain?" " Upper-right quadrant." "increased blood pressure, probably HELLP syndrome." " We're inducing now." " ls it moving to the shoulder blade?" " You cannot be in here." " What are her levels?" "Oh, tell me you checked her levels before ordering an induction." "If this is hypertension, that baby is in jeopardy." " Not if it's a gallstone, it's not." " l'm calling security." "I am her doctor and I'm not going anywhere until I see numbers." "You throw me out of here and you murder that baby because of your negligence and I swear to God, I will see that you never work again." " Get those numbers now." " What is your name?" " l'm Dr. Richard Sohn." " Where are your scrubs?" "I'm a friend of the family." " He's not my doctor." " lf you're wrong," " you're in serious trouble." " Go fuck yourself." "Cancel the cytotec." "Schedule an ultrasound to confirm the presence of a stone." " Maybe you should just pull over." " Where?" "Asshole." "Are you okay?" "Do you hear that?" "She isn't moving." "Call Patricia." "The police are coming with an ambulance." "She won't go." "She needs to go to a regular hospital." "They'll induce her." "She won't go." "The baby's dead, Patty." "She'll deliver on her own in three weeks." "She can't make that decision right now." "She doesn't know what she wants." "She knows exactly what she wants." "Henry?" "What's the matter?" " What?" " This room is a pigsty." " lt looks okay to me." " Pick up your room!" "Clean up!" "Vivian, it's okay." "Don't." "Thank you." "Henry?" "Henry?" "Michael..." "Michael." "Hi, you've reached the Mathesons." "Before you know it, we're gonna have a teenager on our hands, so leave a message while you can still get through." "Madeline, it's Patty." "We should talk soon about the delivery." "You should try to get out. lt's not good for you to be too stationary right now." "Um, call me, okay?" "Did you find what you were looking for?" "Miss?" "All right, Mad, you're doing great." "See me, see me, see me." "Look look look." "Look here, right here." "Breathe breathe." "It's okay now." "You're gonna be okay." "You're gonna be okay." "Madeline, we're gonna move you now." " Up we go, smooth motion." " Traveling traveling." "And shifting." "Coming around." "Get the arms around her." "The baby's descended." "We've got to put her in the tub." "She's in too much pain." "In the tub, in the tub." "Melissa, you need to bring her back here." " She's too tight." " l've got her." " l've got left-- up!" " Okay, come on, get her back in." "Give me the left." "We've got you, we've got you, we've got you." "Shifting!" "You'll be okay, all right." "All right, all right." "Get her head." " Ow, I'm tearing!" " No no no." "You're not tearing, baby." "Push push push." "Can I hold her?" "Please?" "Suction." "Suction." "Do it now." "You're so little." "Do you know how much I want you to stay?" "Please stay." "Madeline, you can't will a baby back to l" "life." "It's Grace." "Her name is Grace." "Did you put those photos aside?" "It's been hard packing his things, Vivian. I'm sorry." "I can stop by today if you'd just put them in a box for me." "I'll spend some time with the baby." "I'm sure you could use the help." " Ow." " Was that the baby?" " What's wrong?" " Nothing." "She's fine." "Let's make an appointment for you to see a doctor." "Vivian, I have to go." "Why not just go in and see Dr. Sohn?" "Because Dr. Sohn isn't my doctor." "I know you've been seeing your friend, but a midwife isn't a doctor." " She is a doctor." " lf you can't get out to his office I can ask him to stop by for a visit." "Vivian, this is a bad time." "I have to go." " l will be leaving work a little early." " My mother-in-law." "It would be great to have a little time with her." "I'm sure she'd love to see her grandmother and I know Henry is just dying to see her." "And I'm sure you'd love an opportunity to retrench." " Hey, there." " No, I can take care of her." " Bye, Vivian." " Don't forget the photos." "She breast-fed Michael till he was three years old." "She misses him." "Um, I'm sorry." "Can I use your bathroom?" "Oh, I got these." "I realized that I never gave you a congratulations gift." "It's like a women's version of a cigar, I guess." "Heh." "Idiot." "The pressure is applied intermittently between bleedings to preserve the animal's blood in its own body and ensure the freshness of samples." "The blood must be centrifuged before clotting begins..." "Pleasant." "Animal Channel-- l'm hooked." "It's like a vegan horror movie." " Thanks for coming." " Yeah, of course." "Oh, hey!" "You know what?" "I got her something." "Um, here." "PachelBaby's my favorite." "Oh, and..." " You didn't have to do all this." " Sure, I did." "I love to hug my kitty." " God, she's beautiful." " She hardly ever cries." " How are you doing?" " No complaints." "Nipples hurt a little bit." "Keep those things stimulated, you'll be able to nurse till you're 60." " Neuroendocrine reflex." " You got it." " How was the blood work?" " lt was all normal." "Of course it was." "Madeline, I know that you do not want to take her to the hospital, but there are some tests that can help us understand" "We're not a case study." " l don't need to understand a miracle." " Madeline-- lf it were up to them she would be dead." "You said you could take care of anything she needs. lf you don't want to help..." " No, all right, I get it." " ..." "I'll find somebody else." "Oh, Dr. Jones!" "The prominent North American rat surgeon lives." "Oh, he's huge." "Do you remember what Tracey Sullivan used to call the three of us?" "Ma and Pa and Baby J." "Don't." "I'm sorry." "How about this?" "Grace, okay okay." "All right, out you go." "Oh my God!" "Oh, Jonesy." "All clean!" "No more bugs, no more stinky." "Hi, my girl." "Come on." "The stars in heaven" "Tucked in the sun" "And each little flower knows this day is done" "And one lonesome bird sings" "A quiet good night" "My sweet little angel lt's time for good night" "So sleep and dream" "Just close your eyes" "And I'll be here waiting" "The moment you rise" "So sleep little angel lt's time for good night." "Baby, bath time's over." "Don't cry. I'm sorry." "You've reached Nature Birth." "Leave a message and we'll get back to you after the miracle." "Grace has a really bad rash..." "she smells funny." "I don't know." "I put her in the tub-- l really don't know what happened." "The temperature was fine." "Maybe it was the soap." "I don't know, can you call me back?" "Oh, piece of crap." "I know, okay okay okay." "I know, sweetie." "I know, I know." "Let's have a nice snack." "Shh-hhh." "Shhh." "Here we go." "Here we go." "All right, all right." "Come on, Gracie." "Okay, let's lay down." "Are you okay?" "Yeah." " Are you going somewhere?" " No." "Uh, well, I don't know." "I thought it might be fun to go for a road trip or something." "You know, get away?" " From me?" " No, of course not." "She's sick." "Whatever you had with her is over." "Are you ready for a snack?" "Oh, honey." "Okay." "Gentle, honey." "Ahh!" "Ow." "Sweetheart." "You have to eat something." "Oh..." "Please, honey." "You need to eat something." "Baby, please." "Okay, Mommy needs a break." "The stars in heaven" "Tucked in the sun" "And each little flower knows this day is done" "And one lonesome bird sings" "A quiet good night" "My sweet little angel lt's time to sleep tight" "So sleep and dream" "Just close your eyes" "I'll be here waiting" "The moment you rise..." "Kinder kills, cleaner cuts." "Carl's Cows have no antibiotics and no synthetic growth hormones." "Kinder kills, cleaner cuts." "Carl's Cows have no antibiotics and no synthetic growth hormones." "Kinder kills, cleaner cuts." "Carl's Cows have no antibiotics and no synthetic growth hormones." "Kinder kills, cleaner cut" "I know, honey, just a sec." "Come on." "Please." "Grace!" " Shelly, it's Madeline." " She's not in, Madeline." " When will she be back?" " l don't know, I'm sorry." "Please have her call me when she gets back. lt's an emergency." "Okay." "Yes, sir." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "I'd like to see Dr. Sohn." " Yes?" " Mrs. Matheson is insisting on seeing you-- Judge Matheson." "Send her in." " Your Honor." " Hi, Richard." " You look wonderful." " Thank you." "I'm so sorry about Mike." "The woman he married-- she's sick." "Does she need a referral?" "I could..." "After the accident, she told us the baby was dead, but that she was going to carry it to term anyway." "We were going to pretend it was a stillbirth." "But then when I didn't hear from her, I phoned the birthing clinic... about the funeral arrangements." "And the assistant told me that the baby had been born and that it was fine." " Who's her OB?" " A midwife delivered." "Madeline won't go to a hospital." "She won't see a real doctor." "She doesn't even pick up the phone." "Well, have you called the police?" "I've seen this 1,000 times." "If I file with the police, that baby will spend weeks in state care, while Youth Services shuffles paperwork." "I do not want this woman raising my granddaughter." "If I... could get a medical report confirming that she's not fit..." "And you'd take the baby?" "My son is gone." "Well... maybe there's something that you could do for me too." "I..." "I got myself in a little trouble." "Shhh." "Just help me and I'll help you." "Shhh." "Mrs. Matheson?" "Vivian, it's Richard." "I can't prove neglect unless she opens up." "I said I would help." "Shhh." "No one's gonna take you away." "Shhh." "Shhh." "Hi, you've reached the Mathesons." "Before you know it, we're going to have a teenager on our hands, so leave a message while you can still get through." "Oh my God, what happened?" "Shhh." "Okay, shhh." "Shhh." "Okay." "Shhh, okay, come here." "Shhh." " Oh." " l love to hug my kitty." "Jonesy?" "Shhh." "Baby, you just ate." "I know, honey." "Mommy's thirsty too." "When Lucy came in, she had so many fleas, they were literally sucking her dry." "If she stayed out there, the chill and fatigue would get worse and eventually the heart just wouldn't be able to keep up." "For her to have a chance, even without the fleas, we'd have to load her system with the vitamins she lost." "The owner had no malicious intent-- if you can't take care of yourself how do you take care of your animal?" " Shelly, please!" " l can take another message." "I've been trying for two days." "I'm sure she got your voicemail." "Have you thought more about going to the hospital?" " Just have her call me back." " Okay." " Who was that?" " The trailer guy." "It's a motor home." "Richard, it's me." "I need you to go back." "Today." "I need you to go back today." "I am not letting that baby spend one more night with that woman." "Just give me till this evening." "Good." "Patricia?" "Mrs. Matheson?" "There there now. lt's all right." "It's all right." "I'm sick." "I'm here to help." "Come and sit down." "Come and sit down." "That's it." "We're not going to the hospital." "I can't help you unless I know what's going on." "I'm just so cold." "Could you open your mouth for me, please?" "You're badly anemic." "I'm going to have to do a proper exam." "What kind of exam?" "Well, it is a serious condition, but it can probably be treated with a little time and proper nourishment." "It may be a simple as feeding the baby a little formula for a little bit to give your body time to recoup." "But I need to do a proper exam to confirm the extent of the condition." "It, um, it can be slightly intrusive." "Maybe-- maybe you'd just better get the child and we can go to the hospital." "No!" "No, please." "I don't care if it's intrusive." "Hmm." " lf you're too cold to disrobe, we" " No!" "Turn around." "Unbutton your shirt." "Nice and deep." "Again." "I'm gonna need one of these." "Now I'm going to stick you." "Are you ready?" "is that it?" "Just one more." "I'm sorry. I should have explained it to you." "I'm going to need a sample of your breast milk-- to make sure that the baby is getting what she needs." "The newer models are much less cumbersome, but these old brass units provide a much more natural suction." " One of them is sore." " All I need is one." "I know the pewter looks a little archaic, but the leather seals are much more gentle than the plastic flanges." "And the jars were bigger because with such a precision instrument, your supply would be triple." "This is the original blown-glass." "Why don't you hold these?" "I'm going to need both of my hands." "It's quite all right to turn around." "Whenever you're ready." "Just let me know if the suction's too much." "is she sick?" "She's just cranky." "That baby is sick." "She's just got a little bit of a cough." "Where is she?" "Where is she?" "Just let her rest." "She's fine." "Please!" "Please, you don't understand." "Vivian, it's Richie" "Ahh!" "Oh, come on, come on." "Henry, I can't hear myself think!" " Did you get Richard?" " Please-- just-- finish the crib." "Richard, pick up." "Call me back." "I'm going over there." "I'm heading out." "Do you need anything?" "No, thanks." "is this Cory?" "Hi, it's Patricia Lang calling about the motor home." "I'm sorry it took me so long to get back." "I wanted to go ahead and move forward." "I was going to call you back, but I lost your number." "I thought you left a message with Shelly." " Shelly?" " Shelly my assistant." "Madeline?" "Are you home?" "The door was open." "Um, I'm just feeding the baby." "Why don't you make yourself some tea?" "I'll be right down." "Do you want anything?" "I'm fine." "Okay." "Come on, honey, please." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Shhh." "Can I have a little peek?" " What are you doing here?" " l was worried." "Jesus, Madeline, you look terrible." "I haven't been getting enough sleep." "Can I have some tea?" "I ran out." "When was the last time you saw a doctor?" "Today. I'm fine, really." "They did some blood tests and told me to use formula for a few days." "I'm just tired." "Richard Sohn didn't stop by, did he?" "No." "You asked him to check on me?" "I got worried." "You haven't been picking up the phone." "I just wanted to see if everything was all right." "God, Madeline, you look terrible." "Can we do this another time, Vivian?" "Could I just have a quick look at her?" "No." "She's had a tough day and I want her to sleep." "Tomorrow, okay?" "is she sick?" "Vivian, really, tomorrow." "Okay." "I, um... have to go to the loo before I go home." "Vivian!" "Grace?" "Vivian!" "Get away from us." "Please, you don't understand." "She's special." "She needs special food." "You're sick." "Get back!" "Please, just let her go." "Let her go." "You'll kill her." "Madeline?" "Oh God." "Oh God." "Oh God." "Please." "Wake up." "Wake... oh, Jesus." "Oh, please, I'm sorry." "Madeline." "How you doing, fatso?" "Dinnertime, baby." "Come here, Jonesy." "It's so quiet back here." "God, she looks fantastic." "She finally had something to eat?" "I told you everything tested healthy." "It's all about maintaining your diet." "We keep your blood levels up, we can do this." "There's something else." "She needs more now." "She's teething." "The stars in heaven" "Tucked in the sun" "And each little flower knows this day is done" "And one lonesome bird sings" "A quiet good night" "My sweet little angel lt's time for good night" "So sleep and dream" "Just close your eyes I'll be here waiting" "The moment you rise" "And one lonesome bird sings" "A quiet good night" "My sweet little angel lt's time to sleep tight."