An Act of Persuasion(80)

After glaring at him, Anna politely told the woman that she did not want to know the gender. The technician went about her work, pointing out various features of their child on the screen along the way.

Ben was shown a nose and a chin and hand and a foot. He didn’t recognize any of the above amongst the grainy images. And even though he couldn’t recognize any of the prominent features, he still tried to search for some clue as to the sex of his child. Surely a man would recognize a penis on a screen when he saw it. But even his formidable powers of observation were no match for this technology. He was out of luck.

Finally, the ultrasound was finished and, while Anna wiped off the goo from her belly, Ben helped her off the table and found her the nearest bathroom.

Afterward they were led to another exam room to meet Anna’s OB/GYN. This state-of-the-art practice was located adjacent to the hospital where the doctor would deliver the child. All the facilities necessary for monitoring a pregnancy through to birth were contained within the one campus. Ben felt reassured by the proximity of the doctor to the hospital.

Anna, wearing a pair of stretchy yoga pants that had reached their absolute limit of stretchiness and an actual maternity top, was vastly more comfortable having made use of the bathroom.

“I’m telling you it’s almost criminal to make a pregnant woman drink that much then tell her to hold it.”

Ben was nodding while in the back of his mind he reviewed his list of questions for the doctor. The last time he’d been here he’d still been getting used to the idea that he was actually going to be a father and Anna had prevented him from asking much. This time he was better prepared and he had no intentions of letting Anna stop him.

A different doctor from the last time entered the room.

“You’re not her doctor.”

The woman put her hands in her pockets. “I’m Doctor Bradley and I work in the practice, too. We like our patients to rotate through all of us because we won’t know who will be on call when the time comes to deliver. Nice to meet you.”

Anna shook hands with the woman as did Ben, but he remained skeptical. “How many doctors are in the practice?”

“There are four of us. All women.”

Dr. Bradley was older, maybe in her fifties, with steel-grey hair and a pleasant demeanor.

“What if we prefer one over another? Can we have our choice of doctor to deliver the child?”

“Ben,” Anna chided. “We’re not going to have a problem with the doctors.”

“If you truly have a problem with one of us, then yes, you should let us know,” Dr. Bradley answered calmly. “We can try to make arrangements as Anna’s time grows closer. Now, let’s take a look at you, Anna.”

“I’m huge!” Anna announced as she pulled up her shirt.

“Not too huge,” the doctor told her as she gently palpitated her stomach. “You’re at nineteen weeks and it looks as though the baby is growing on schedule. Your ultrasound looks good. I see you didn’t want to know the gender of the baby.”

“No.”

“Do you know?” Ben asked. “When you looked at the pictures could you tell?”

The older woman seemed to assess him before she answered. “No, I couldn’t tell at all. The baby wasn’t in a position where the technician would have been able to tell you regardless. So, in this case, it’s actually a good thing you didn’t want to find out.”

Ben was satisfied until he saw the doctor wink at Anna.

“Now, Anna, do you have any questions?”

“I have questions,” Ben said.

Anna shrugged at the doctor. “You might as well sit down, Dr. Bradley, he’s going to have you here awhile.”

Ben frowned but proceeded with his list. “I’m concerned about sex and the best positions for it as she grows larger.”

“Ben!”

“Well, I am,” he said, refusing to be embarrassed. The woman was a doctor. There was no reason not to be frank. He had every intention of continuing to have sex with Anna up until the point she no longer found it pleasurable. But he had concerns about any impact intercourse might have on his unborn child.

“Well, I would say that’s up to Anna. She can best let you know what feels comfortable and what doesn’t.”

“I can’t...hurt the baby?”

The woman had the decency to not smile. “No. As long as her pregnancy remains normal with no bleeding or amniotic fluid leakage, sex is perfectly fine.”