Ive handed delivery of roughly twelvethousand newborns in my years at the remote northern maternity unit in Yorkshire, but a handful of cases cling to my memory, and none more than the only set of triplets I ever see. Let me tell you about them.
A young couple, expecting their first child, arrives in the village under the NHS placement scheme. The father, Tom Barrett, works as an aircraft technician at the small airfield outside the town. They share a cramped room in the staff hostel. The mother, Emily Clarke, is a lively, brightredhaired girl from Londonso strikingly beautiful that calling her a woman feels almost inappropriate.
Tom, originally from the West Country, is stocky, calm and a touch laidback. Back in those bright, hopeful days of the early 1990s, such a mix was perfectly ordinary. Early on, they learn theyll have twins.
Because of this, Emily plans to travel to London to give birth with her mother, but the labour starts earlyat thirtytwo weeks. Vicky, the midwife on shift, brings her in just as the main delivery suite is closed for deep cleaning, so were temporarily operating out of the gynecology wing.
The oncall obstetrician, DrDiana Clarke, is experienced and sharp. During her visual exam she suspects the babies are malpositioned, which would make a natural birth extremely risky. She decides on an emergency caesarean and orders an Xray to confirm the positioning.
The scan shows exactly two babies: one headfirst, the other breech. Confident the situation is predictable, we move to the operating theatre.
We first deliver a boy, Harry, weighing 1.7kg. While the surgeon and I tend to him, the team extracts the second boy, Jack, at 1.6kg. Just as we finish, I hear DrClarke call out, Take the third one! Theres no time for jokesboth boys are tiny and fragile.
I mutter a few exasperated words at the crew, but a loud cry stops me in my tracks. A little girl, Blythe, arrives, weighing 1.4kg. Im stunned; she wasnt visible on the scan or in the initial exam. The two boys had been lying sidebyside along the uterus, while Blythe was tucked beneath them, hidden from view.
Those tiny gentlemen had shielded their sister from prying eyes. If DrClarke hadnt insisted on the operation, the three might not have survived. We hand the newborns to the nurse, and together we tend to the trio in a ward illequipped for such a surge. There is only one incubatora cot for preterm infantsand we manage to fit all three inside it.
I stay by the babies all night, trembling with worry. By morning their conditions stabilise. The ward bell rings; Im at the door when a handsome airforce officer in uniform steps in.
Whos my children? he asks, his voice a mix of surprise and hope.
Congratulations, MrBarrett, I say slowly. You have two sons and a daughter. The news takes a moment to sink in for him. He repeats, halftohimself, Two sons a daughter three children? I nod, trying to sound reassuring.
He shuffles down the wall, and we seat him, offering a glass of water. The father had just arrived on placement, earning little, living in a tiny flat. Now, three little lives are in his care. The babies remain in the ward, gaining weight and strength, while I visit often, marveling at this natures miracle. Despite being three, theyre always clean, fed, and looked after. Emily, ever meticulous, never lets a smile leave her face. Its the first set of triplets the village has ever seen, and the kids have the best of luck.
The hospital administration promptly assigns the family a threebedroom flat in a new council estate, fully furnished and ready for them. They also arrange a dedicated health visitor for the first few months. Yet the true hero is Emilya stunningly beautiful young woman who raises all three children with boundless love.
Ten years later, I happen to be in the outpatient lounge of the same hospital. Vicky walks in with her children, dropping off a visit to their father, who now works as a senior mechanic at the airfield. Two darkhaired boys, almost twins, follow herspitting images of their dad. Right behind them dashes a brightredhaired, sprightly girl, the exact portrait of Emily.
Seeing that happy family fills me with joy, and I can still feel the warmth radiating from those wonderful little ones. Their tiny heartbeats echo in my mind, a reminder of the day three tiny gentlemen protected their sister, and a mother turned a miracle into a lasting legacy.
