Different Circles

“Really?” Jake asked, interested. Though he was not the most medically savvy person in the world, this did make sense to him. Oxytocin was released in large amounts when a woman had the Big O. It was also what they gave—in synthetic form—when they wanted to induce labor, as they had done for Pauline.

“There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the hypothesis,” she said. “So, once you’re at or about forty weeks gestation, there may be some benefit to having a good orgasm or two, whether it’s through traditional intercourse, oral sex, or manual stimulation of the clitoris.”

Jake thought it amazing that she could talk about getting it on in so clinical and boring a manner. It could be that she and Nerdly were actually soul mates whose paths had missed.

“There is one other thing we’d like to talk about,” Laura said.

“What’s that?” Niven asked.

“It has to do with how long labor is likely to last once it gets started.”

“Well,” Niven said, “unfortunately, as a primigravida woman with a small frame, it is likely to be considerable. Eight to ten hours minimum under ordinary circumstances, perhaps even as long as twelve to eighteen. If you were to go much more than eighteen, I would start to consider a C-section, particularly if there were any signs of fetal distress.”

Laura nodded, though she did not seem upset by this prediction. She seemed happy about it.

“Is that good news?” asked Niven.

“It is for us,” Laura said. “You see, we’re going to be up in Coos Bay, Oregon when my due date rolls around.”

Niven raised her eyebrows a bit. “I don’t really think it’s wise to go on vacation that close to your due date,” she suggested.

“It’s not vacation, doc,” Jake told her. “We’re working. Laura is the saxophonist for Celia Valdez’s new album and I’m the producer of it. The recording studio is in Coos Bay and we’ll be smack dab in the middle of our session time come late November.”

“I see,” Niven said slowly. “You do not plan to have me deliver the baby at SLO Baptist then? You’re going to deliver in Oregon?”

“No, not at all,” Laura said. “We are completely committed to having you deliver at Baptist. Our plan is to get our butts here from there as soon as labor begins.”

Niven was now looking at them as if they were insane. “Travel from Oregon to SLO at the onset of labor?” she asked. “That’s a terrible idea. I don’t recommend that at all.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Jake asked. “I’m a pilot, remember? I’m sure you’ve read all the articles in the paper about our noisy plane disturbing the peace all the time. That plane can make the flight from North Bend to SLO Regional in an hour and thirty-five minutes of flight time. It’s only another ten minutes from the airport to the hospital. If the minimum labor is eight hours, that will give us plenty of time.”

“That minimum labor time is only applicable if this labor stays routine,” Niven said. “What if it’s not routine? What if you are one of those rare women who delivers her first child in thirty minutes? That can happen, you know. Or what if you do not recognize that you are even in labor for the first six hours or so? That is actually much more likely, particularly in a primigravida who has no experience with the sensations of first-stage labor.”

“We’re going to bring Celia along with us,” Laura said. “She wants to be present at the birth anyway. She can time contractions for me and all that.”

“But still,” Niven said, “an hour and thirty-five minutes is a long time in which something bad can happen.”

“It’s not like that flight is over the ocean or the Gobi desert, doc,” Jake said. “There are towns and cities and airports all along the route between North Bend and here. If something bad starts to happen, I can be on the ground someplace with a hospital in less than fifteen minutes and have an ambulance meet me there. That’s a better deal than you’d get driving from a rural area into the hospital.”

“Uh ... well ... still,” Niven said, “I have to advise against this plan. There is no reason to take a chance. You should return home at thirty-eight weeks or so and stay put here until labor. That way, you will be taking no chances.”

“We can’t do that,” Laura said simply. “We have a deadline to meet and neither of us can take two or three weeks off. It’s going to have to be the fly-out-at-the-onset-of-labor plan. Nothing else will work.”

Niven nodded. “I can’t forbid you to do that, of course. I just want you to understand it’s against my advice.”

“Understood,” Jake said.

“And you absolutely should not attempt this if labor begins more than two weeks early,” she added. “You would be delivering early if that happens and there is much more of a chance that the delivery will occur quickly. If early labor begins, just go to the nearest hospital with labor and delivery services.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Laura said. “We’ll do it.”

“What do you plan to do once the baby is born?” Niven asked next.