The Art of New Life [Birthing Lesson!]

Paladin was a patient wolf. You had to be when lives relied on your level thinking. Patience was needed to calm hysteria, or to explain the facts to irascible patients. But he had to admit, Justice was trying that well trained patience enough to get a sharp look from his gradated sapphire and amethyst eyes at her flippant prodding.

His features remained calm and unflappable, but he did let an archly spoken response slide free as he studied her. “Amusing. And yet, it is the cousins separated by a mere four or five generations that have treated us better than the ones birthed by our great uncle Gargoyle. Or do I need to remind you of whom it was that led that gods-forsaken raid against our pack?”

At Domari’s reaction, Paladin gazed steadily back as he answered, “There are male midwives all over the world. Aurielle and Aramis I helped into the world myself. Sometimes we have to when there are no other healers experienced in the matter available to help. Paladin, Cleric, straight up Healer, this is a topic you are all expected to be versed in, whether you end up putting that knowledge to use or not. Or would you rather be stuck in an emergency, the only wolf who could have helped her, having to watch her weaken and die with her children because you didn’t think you needed to learn this part of your Craft, or couldn’t stomach it?”

The words finished with a hard bite to them as he turned away and eyed Justice, making it clear that he’d spotted the shudder.

As they gave their guesses, his patience threatened to wear thin. With Domari, at least his fellow male made a real attempt at a true guess. But his own sister? Coolly, he corrected, “Not all wolves have had the luxury of having someone tell them what to expect when they’re expecting. New mothers may be prone to panicking when they feel the pains, because they do not know what they mean. Instinct may know, but the mind doesn’t always follow what instinct tells it to. It is down to the healer to diagnose what they are for those mothers and to reassure them. More experienced females are easier, as they have been down this road before, but the older the mother, the closer you must watch her for problems with her whelping.”

To Etain, Domari, and Aurielle, he nodded. “Those are all good signs. Aurielle, you are correct. Well done. Yes, a mother about to go into labor will lose her appetite for food, and may even vomit to clear her stomach, out of instinct or discomfort. This is the best time to give her something for the pain. Now, I’ve laid out quite a few implements here for you each to learn about. Many of these plants you’ll probably have heard of for use in birthing—Motherwort is one of the most commonly used, as is Trillium. But I’ve also set out some less well-known plants for this subject.”

The snow-based Cleric bent and nudged both the Trillium and the Motherwort forward, stating calmly, “These two are Trillium and Motherwort. I was quite lucky to find a late-blooming Trillium plant, so you’ll have an excellent example of what to look for when you’re looking for them. Trillium is used to facilitate labor, and get it going if it’s gone on too long and the mother’s tiring or her contractions are weak. As well, it can also be used externally to treat insect bites and stings, as well as gangrene.”

His eyes flicked to the gathered wolves, the intent look on Aurielle’s face telling him that she, at least, was taking this seriously. He paused for several beats, letting them absorb the lesson so far before he turned to nose the Motherwort.

“Motherwort is a two-pronged herb. It should be given to an established patient the week or so before her due-date. It helps relax her body as it prepares for labor over the last few weeks of gestation. It also helps prevent miscarriages and soothe false labor pains. It helps ease the pain, and will also help soothe her anxiety. It is a mild sedative, as you might have guessed by now. It will also lend her strength to push.”

He let that sink in before he set a paw behind the pile of herbs to his left. “This is Anemone, also known as Prairie Smoke, Twinflower, or Windflower, to name a few names. This is a plant that has quite the repertoire of uses, and among them is stopping bleeding, sedatives, and pain reliever. Like Motherwort, it relaxes the muscles, and stimulates the uterus, which makes it far easier for a mother to birth her litter. You can also use it to help with depression and anxiety in unrelated cases, as well as to break a fever. The list goes on.”

Finally, he fell silent, his nod to the array of herbs in front of him suggesting they each take a good look at the ones he’d indicated, and clearly welcoming them to ask about the other implements he’d laid out but had not mentioned yet.