Grace

---

Woman:
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.

It'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.

Patty:

I'm sure you have some questions.

- Michael:
Are you a licensed doctor?

- I 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.

- I have an MD from Columbia.

- I 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.

Madeline:
"Mothers are

three to six times more likely

to die delivering in a hospital

than a midwife-supervised clinic

...or home birth. "

It'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?

- Vivian:
Michael?

- Ow, my chest.

- Vivian:
What's happening?

- Can you move?

- Call Patricia.

- Is something wrong with Madeline?

- Ma, I have to go.

Don't call Dr. Sohn.

We're going to the ER.

Doctor:
Is this the first time

she's had chest pains, sir?

- Michael:
Yeah, as far as I know.

- Okay, let's get some levels on her.

Man:
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!

- Michael:
What's that?

- Mike, Mike, I'll take care of her.

- No.

Madeline:

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!

- Sh*t.

- Is 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.

- Madeline:
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.

- I'm her midwife.

- Madeline:
It'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.

- Is 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, she's not.

- I'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?

- I'm Dr. Richard Sohn.

- Where are your scrubs?

I'm a friend of the family.

- He's not my doctor.

- If you're wrong,

- you're in serious trouble.

- Go f*** yourself.

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