Chapter 611: Outside the Obstetrics Building, a Microcosm of Humanity

A Hospital in Another World?

Having streamlined the process of informed consent, the subsequent consultations and treatments became much more manageable. Garrett Nordmark was able to maintain his calm, methodically attending to each mother and instructing the midwives:

"By using the method of listening to the fetal heartbeat, one can roughly determine the position of the fetus... No stethoscope? Use a wooden tube, a copper pipe, or even a bellows. A hollow tube can make the sounds clearer than placing your ear directly."

"If the fetal heartbeat exceeds 160 beats per minute, or is less than 120, that is abnormal... Don’t know what a minute is? No pocket watch, no wristwatch?" Indeed, that was a problem...

Currently, clocks and watches remained luxuries. The cheapest pocket watches on the market, the egg-shaped ones that barely fit in a palm, started at 100 gold coins. Apart from magicians, nobles, and merchants, few could afford them.

With Garrett’s finances, he couldn’t afford to equip the midwives with watches. Even if he could, it would only lead to more cases of robbery and murder.

"...In that case, use your own pulse to estimate," he said reluctantly, offering an alternative:

"If it’s less than twice your pulse rate or more than three times, that is abnormal..."

While instructing, conducting examinations, handling emergencies, and guiding cesarean sections, fortunately, he only took on thirty mothers at a time, with few fitting the criteria for cesarean delivery. Even so, Garrett was kept extremely busy:

"Take fewer people next time!" he exclaimed as he emerged from the operating room, leaning against the wall and wiping his sweat:

"Tell those midwives, next time, only one spot per person!"

Joanna, the female pastor, managed a weary smile. She had taken on the bulk of the workload, several times busier than Garrett, and now was too tired to speak:

After the deliveries, the work was only half done. Next, they had to write medical records, surgical reports, and possibly even create anatomical drawings to prepare for publishing papers and, if possible, assist Garrett with his writing...

Her hair was soaked and limply stuck to her forehead, her scrubs drenched in sweat. She looked much like the doctors of old.

After resting for a while, Joanna went back inside, carried out the newborn, and placed it beside its mother in the ward. She also checked several other mothers who had safely given birth to ensure that three of them were ready for discharge:

"Who is responsible for these three? Notify their families to take them home!"

At her command, the midwives hurriedly went out to call the families. Soon, three groups of people arrived outside the Oak Grove Clinic:

The first group was from the charity house, led by a middle-aged gentleman with a prominent belly, his white shirt protruding from a frayed tailcoat. He was followed closely by a plump middle-aged woman, who hurried two skinny, elderly women along.

The plump woman briskly went inside, personally picked up the child, and bowed to the middle-aged gentleman. Then she scolded the two elderly women:

"Help her up! Carry her, take her away! How can you be so clueless, adding trouble for the mage! Oh, Sir Mage, thank you for your hard work!"

Garrett nodded slightly with a stern face. Priest Joanna rebuked:

"Bring a cart next time! Look at her condition; does she look like she can walk?!"

"Yes, yes! Certainly, I’ll bring a cart next time!" The middle-aged gentleman didn’t argue but bowed repeatedly. Garrett watched them leave the clinic and sighed deeply:

The mothers and children survived, but their future in the charity house was predictable. The frail mothers didn’t even have a cart to ride...

The next mother had no cart either, but her husband, without hesitation, lifted her onto his back, refusing to let her walk. He carefully asked as they moved:

"Does it hurt to be carried like this? Should I hold you differently?"

"No, it’s fine... Don’t strain yourself, I can walk..."

"No, look how pale you are; better to just lie here. Should I lift you higher so you don’t have to hold on so tight?"

"Mm..."

"Thanks to the mage, we saved a silver coin. Shall I cook something nice for you when we get back? Would you like fish, or a chicken leg?"

"Don’t, it’s hard for you to earn money... I’ve been well-fed these days; that’s enough. Buy yourself some extra bread..."

The couple’s cheeks pressed together, whispering affectionately. Nearby, a teenage girl, likely their eldest daughter, followed closely, holding her younger sister’s swaddle, her eyes filled with adoring smiles.

Garrett stood on the steps and watched them depart, a smile unwittingly spreading across his

face. After they left, he turned to the third family, and his mood soured immediately:

The third family was relatively better off, at least having a cart to pick up the mother. The mother half-lay in the cart, clutching her swaddle in fear as her husband berated her like a storm:

"How could you give birth to another worthless child!"

"I spent five silver coins to marry you! I provide for you, and you can’t even bear a son! I’d get more use from a hen that lays eggs!"

Garrett wished he could tell him that the sex of a baby is determined by the sperm’s DNA, not the egg. But he simply sighed at the thought—how could he explain DNA when they didn’t even know what it was?

All he could do was raise his voice and call out, "Bernard!"

"Get them out of here! His wife struggles to give birth, and he can’t even utter a word of sympathy, only curses, a brute! Dirtying my ground! Get them out, and don’t let that man step foot here again!"

At his command, two burly security guards quickly stepped forward, one lifting the cart’s front and carrying it straight out of the hospital. Another guard grasped the man’s shoulder, hauling him out like a small chicken and tossing him outside:

"Get lost! The mage has spoken; you’re not allowed here anymore!"

Under the absolute force, the husband dared not utter a sound, hastily pulling the cart away. Garrett sighed again and turned towards the Obstetrics Building:

What kind of people are these?

Such a nuisance!

He walked past the outpatient building, rounding a large bend along the wall, heading towards the Obstetrics Building. Before he could enter, a sudden scream erupted from outside the walls. Painful, weak, filled with fear:

"I didn’t! I didn’t!"

What had happened now?

Garrett tilted his head to listen. The woman’s scream seemed vaguely familiar, mixed with a man’s furious roar. However, the volume made it hard to hear clearly.

Garrett looked up at the high wall, sighed, and cast a flying spell on himself, soaring into the sky. From above, he saw the man who had just taken the mother away, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her vigorously:

"Tell me! Have you been touched by another man! Tell the truth!!!"

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay