Leah Martyn - A Mother for His Baby

‘I wouldn’t think so.’

Tom got up and peered over her shoulder at the cutting board. ‘So, who’re the extra slices for, then?’

‘Brady—because he’s new.’

‘I’m still new,’ Tom protested.

‘Rats,’ Jo said mildly. ‘You’ve been here for over a year.’ Still smiling, she swung a look back over her shoulder. ‘Brady, turkey, avocado and cos lettuce OK?’

‘Sounds very healthy.’ Brady had the clingfilm running smoothly and placed it back on the worktop.

‘The tomatoes in the basket are from Monica’s garden.’ Jo said conversationally. ‘Her husband, Terry, grows acid-free beauties. She supplies us with heaps.’ With quick, neat movements Jo made his sandwich, slipped it onto a plate and handed it across to him. ‘Enjoy.’

‘Thanks.’ He eyed her levelly. ‘I’ll make yours tomorrow.’

Jo managed to hold his gaze more or less steadily. ‘Don’t make rash promises,’ she warned lightly. ‘There’s bound to be an emergency or three around the corner.’

Jo’s last patient for the day was Leisa Cooper. She worked at the local library and was pregnant with her first child.

‘How are you feeling?’ Jo asked, when Leisa sank gratefully into the chair.

‘Awful,’ Leisa confessed. ‘I feel so darned tired already and I have weeks to go. And I’m thirsty all the time and having to pee twice as much.’

Jo’s medical instincts sharpened. ‘How long has this been going on?’

‘Not long. It just feels long.’ She made a small face. ‘Couple of weeks, I suppose. Is that significant?’

‘Could be.’ Jo wound the blood-pressure cuff around her patient’s arm and took a reading. And made a swift decision. ‘I’m going to send you along for a glucose tolerance test, Leisa. I’d like you go first thing tomorrow, if possible.’

Leisa’s head came up, her eyes wide in alarm. ‘Is something wrong with me?’

‘Nothing drastically,’ Jo reassured her patient gently. ‘But you may be developing something called gestational diabetes. And before you get too worried, the condition is quite common in pregnancy.’

‘Is it something I’ve done wrong?’

‘Nothing like that. While you’re pregnant, the placenta is busily secreting hormones but in some women the uptake of hormones increases the body’s resistance to insulin. When this happens, you need more insulin to help the body’s cells and muscles take up glucose from the bloodstream.’

Leisa touched a hand to her tummy. ‘So, what happens?’

‘Simply, the glucose stays around in the bloodstream. That’s why we need the test done, to see what’s going on with you.’ Jo took up her pen to write out the request for the path lab. ‘It would be helpful if you could have the morning off to have this GTT done, Leisa.’

‘I could probably arrange that.’ Leisa looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘So, how involved is this glucose tolerance test, then?’

‘Not terribly,’ Jo said. ‘It just takes a while. First off, you’ll be asked to drink a quantity of Lucosade.’

‘My poor bladder,’ Leisa groaned. ‘I won’t have to drink gallons of the stuff, will I?’

Jo chuckled. ‘No. From memory, the amount is around three hundred mils. After that, your blood will be tested at one hourly intervals, three in all. If your blood glucose levels indicate you’re not within the normal range, we’ll begin treatment.’

‘Oh, lord…’ Leisa sighed. ‘Is the rest of my pregnancy going to be awful?’

Jo shook her head. ‘Don’t think like that, Leisa. I’d hope diet and exercise will get things right for you. If the diagnosis in confirmed, we’ll begin liaising with Vanessa Rowntree, the dietitian at the hospital. She’ll do an intensive medical history with you and then get you started on an appropriate health regime.’

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