“You’re quite right, Van,” the midwife said. “You’re all first-time parents. It’s hard to know what you may or may not want but no doubt you’ve talked to other parents, your doctor, you’ve read books and as we go through the classes you may decide there are some things you feel quite strongly about.”

“Like what?” Van persisted.

“Like who is present at the birth. It’s good to have a birthing partner and that person may not necessarily be the father of the baby.”

There was a snort from Van.

“Some mothers like to have other people with them, like their mother or a sister or a close friend,” the midwife continued. “There are other things you need to discuss with the doctor beforehand, like the style of birth you are hoping for. Do you want to be mobile or on a bed, do you want an epidural or a drug-free birth?”

“Can I say I don’t want to be cut?”

That had come from the young woman next to Paula with deep brown eyes, wide like saucers and barely a bump to show for her pregnancy

“You can, but I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. As the classes progress we’ll cover everything that is likely to happen. I give these templates to parents then you can discuss your wishes with each other, your doctors, and with myself and the other midwives. It’s something that will evolve differently for each of you.”

She began to hand out the papers and Dan leaned over close to Paula and murmured in her ear. “I didn’t realise we’d have to make so many decisions.”

Paula smiled at him. Neither did she. In fact, when she’d found out Lachlan Hunter couldn’t deliver her baby and she would have to go all the way to Wallaston to have it, she’d felt as if most of the decisions had already been made for her. It was reassuring to think that some choices were still theirs to make.

In the car on the way home, Paula practised the breathing exercises they’d been taught.

“What kind of name is Van?”

Paula grinned at across at Dan. The frown on his face was illuminated by the lights in the dash. “I wondered what you’d think of her.”

“I’m not keen on piercings, can’t understand why anyone would want to do that to themselves, but she seems like a down-to-earth kind of bird. Do you think Van is her proper name or a nickname?”

“It could be short for Vanessa.”

“She doesn’t look like a Vanessa. Maybe it’s short for Vanuatu.”

“Mmm, so I guess Van is not on your preferred name list?”

“No, but I have been thinking about it.”

“Really?” Paula sat up and gave him her full attention. He was hard to pin down about names.