| " | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMedical file - Esther Blackhoof When I first saw her, she was just under twenty weeks. Her petite statue, young age and nervous disposition clearly marked her as a 'high risk' case. Despite my continued objections, she repeatedly insisted on a 'minimally invasive' birth with a midwife instead of the planned induction at 39 weeks that I recommended. On her second appointment at twenty-four weeks, I told her that she had high blood pressure, putting her at risk for pre-ecclampsia, a potentially life-threatening complication. She told me that she 'trusted her body' and that she was proceeding with her home-birth, as planned. I didn't see her again for nearly five months. When I heard the code for the emergency ward, it didn't even occur to me that the stubborn doe had come to darken my doorstep again. She was already unconscious, hemorrhaging from what I could only assume was a massive placental abruption. She was going to bleed herself dry unless I stemmed the tide of blood, and the only way to do that now was an emergency operation. I can only hope I still have time to save at least one life . . . \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t