As Zac hovered, and Jill scurried away and came back with a warmed towel to wrap around the baby, first one and then the other of the baby’s legs dropped down, all by themselves, so that the curve of the baby’s belly and a stretched part of the umbilical cord appeared.

She spoke to Jessamine, but she was really talking to Zac. ‘Same for the cord. People used to ease that loop of cord out to save strain on it, but now we’re taught to leave it in case we cause a spasm in it.’

‘Got it,’ he said and they smiled at each other, both aware of how amazing the natural birth occurring in front of them was.

They watched a section of the slippery rope tumble out of the birth canal. Ava chanted to herself, Wait. Wait. All she needed to do was wait.

In fact, it all made beautiful sense to let the baby drive the birth. With progress this smooth, it would go well as long as she didn’t interfere and startle the baby into lifting his chin and interrupting the curve of his spine.

Ava continued speaking softly to Zac. ‘See that dip between the baby’s nipples on the chest wall? See the space it makes for the cord to sit protected? Isn’t that wonderful.’ The little pale chest and legs hung between the mother’s buttocks, and slowly the tiny calves and thighs began to jiggle, as if the tiny human inside his mother had decided to slowly ride an invisible unicycle.

‘Will you look at that.’ Denise’s awed voice floated across in a whisper.

Jessamine moaned.

‘He’s moving his legs to help him come down,’ Ava murmured to Jessamine. ‘That’s what you can feel. Soon he’ll be sitting on the ground under you, so let me know if you want to move.’

‘I ain’t goin’ nowhere,’ Jessamine ground out.

With the baby doing his circus act, first one arm and shoulder appeared and then the other. Now there was only the head to come. The baby was sitting almost cross-legged under his mother, until suddenly his chin dipped forward and Ava had to lean over quickly to catch him before he fell face first onto the towel. ‘Spontaneous breech birth,’ she announced, wanting to laugh with the exhilaration of it all. Instead she asked, ‘Born at?’

Zac made a noise. ‘Good catch,’ he said with an exultant note in his voice. He took the warmed towel from Jill and rubbed the baby firmly until the little boy screwed up his face and roared with disapproval.

‘Born three thirty-one,’ Jill intoned as if they were in a normal birthing suite, and they all sighed out at the same time. ‘Will I give the injection?’