After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Zhang Huilan arranged for Zhao Xiuxiu to stay in a private room on the second floor of the obstetrics and gynecology department.

The room wasn't big, with a metal bunk bed and a folding wire bed for caregivers. The window faced south, so it got some sunshine until three or four in the afternoon.

Zhao Xiuxiu was helped to sit on the bed by Ye Cheng. Before she could even take off her cloth shoes, the nurse came in with a blood pressure monitor.

"Zhao Xiuxiu, thirty-four weeks plus three, right?"

"Yes, yes."

The nurse deftly tied the cuff, and Ye Zhen stood at the foot of the bed without moving. She waited for the nurse to read out the numbers and write them down on the form before taking a look.

Right arm 146/94.

It was two millimeters lower than in the morning, but that's hardly an improvement.

Zhang Huilan followed in and opened the doctor's prescription book.

"Rest in your left lateral position today. The nurse will deliver your meals according to the nutrition plan, which includes low-sodium, high-quality protein. Check your blood pressure again tomorrow morning to confirm the trend and then determine a blood pressure-lowering plan."

She gestured with her chin towards Zhao Xiuxiu again.

"You need to learn to count fetal movements yourself. Count them for one hour after breakfast, lunch, and dinner, at least three times per hour. If you count less than three times, ring the bell to call someone."

Zhao Xiuxiu nodded nervously.

Ye Zhen did not add anything further.

Zhang Huilan has been working in the obstetrics department for over 20 years, and has handled just as many high-risk pregnancies as she has.

After the patient was transferred to the obstetrics department, the specific medication and monitoring plan was Zhang Huilan's responsibility; she did not overstep her bounds.

After Zhang Huilan left, the ward became quiet.

Ye Cheng sat on the folding bed for a while, then stood up, put Zhao Xiuxiu's washbasin under the bedside table, placed the enamel cup within reach, and then went back to drape the towel over the edge of the basin.

After fussing around for a while, he stood by the window and rubbed his hands together.

"Zhenzhen, over at the quarry..."

"Brother, I was just about to tell you that too."

Ye Zhen pulled over a chair and sat down.

"My sister-in-law may have to stay in the hospital until she gives birth. It will be at least three or four weeks, and possibly longer."

Ye Cheng's smile vanished.

"You can't abandon your quarry."

Ye Cheng rubbed his hands together but didn't reply.

"Your sister-in-law lives here, and there are obstetricians and nurses watching over her. I come to check on her every day after work. Gu Zheng is at home, and someone is cooking for him. You should go back home; your parents need someone to take care of them too."

Ye Zhen looked at him.

Zhao Xiuxiu propped herself up on the bed.

"Zhenzhen is right."

"I feel uneasy having you here watching over me."

Ye Cheng gripped the iron frame of the folding bed, his fingers clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

"Brother, you have to believe me."

Ye Zhen rarely speaks in this tone.

Ye Cheng lowered his head slightly.

"……OK."

He pulled out a wad of change and food coupons from his pocket and slapped them all on the bedside table.

"These are for Xiuxiu. If she needs anything, just ask the nurse to run errands for her."

"Take these back."

Ye Zhen pushed the money back into his hand.

"My sister-in-law can go to the hospital for what she needs, and I'll make up for anything she lacks."

Ye Cheng clutched the stack of money for a long time before stuffing it back into his pocket.

Zhao Xiuxiu waved to him with red eyes.

"Hurry up, hurry up, stop dawdling here."

Ye Cheng bent down and tucked the blanket around Zhao Xiuxiu, then gently patted her stomach twice.

"I'm leaving. Listen to Zhenzhen."

"Okay, okay."

Ye Zhen escorted Ye Cheng to the door of the ward.

Ye Cheng turned around at the corner and saw Ye Zhen still standing at the door. He grinned, waved, quickened his pace, and disappeared into the stairwell.

In the days that followed, Ye Zhen added a fixed item to her schedule.

Every afternoon at 5:30, she would come out of the interventional radiology demonstration room and go to the obstetrics and gynecology department on the second floor of the inpatient department to look through Zhao Xiuxiu's nursing records for the day.

After checking the blood pressure, fetal movement frequency, urine output, weight, and urine protein retest results one by one, I finally spoke a few words to Zhao Xiuxiu.

On the third day of her hospitalization, Zhang Huilan was given labetalol to lower her blood pressure. The initial dose was low, taken orally twice a day.

The first time Zhao Xiuxiu took the pills, she found them bitter and held them in her mouth for a long time without swallowing. She was caught by a nurse during rounds and scolded before she finally swallowed them.

The result of the retest on the fourth day was 139/88.

Day 6, 136/86.

The numbers are falling.

Ye Zhen recorded each reading in her notebook without offering any feedback.

The blood pressure medication is working, and the blood pressure is coming down, but the root cause of preeclampsia is the placenta, and the medication is only managing the symptoms.

True safety will only be achieved after the child is born.

For the first two days after Zhao Xiuxiu moved in, she was restless, feeling that she had taken advantage of her sister's kindness, but also afraid of spending money.

I started to get used to it on the third day.

The woman in the next bed, surnamed Liu, is from Hebei. Her husband is a platoon leader in the army, and she was also admitted in her late pregnancy.

The two became acquainted a day later.

Sister Liu is pregnant with her second child. She knows more about fetal movement, false labor contractions, and when to ring the call button than Zhao Xiuxiu does, and she gives her pointers whenever she has time.

Zhao Xiuxiu studied diligently.

The fetal movement records in the booklet were written neatly, with each line ending with a parenthesis indicating "normal" or "less frequent".

When Ye Zhen turned to the line "less," she specifically asked Zhang Huilan about it.

"On the afternoon of the eighth day, there were only three fetal heart rates in that hour, which was just below the line. We did an additional fetal heart rate monitoring at that time. The baseline was normal, and there was an acceleration but no deceleration."

Zhang Huilan showed her the fetal monitoring report from that day.

"The mother had just woken up, and the fetus was probably also in a sleep cycle."

Ye Zhen nodded without saying anything more.

Every time she came, Zhao Xiuxiu would always hold her hand and chatter for a bit.

Once, Zhao Xiuxiu asked her what the baby would wear after birth.

According to the village custom, the first piece of clothing must be made of old cotton cloth, which is soft and won't irritate the skin.

She had already cut out two little jackets at home, but she left in a hurry and forgot them in the closet.

"I'll have my brother send it over later."

Ye Zhen readily agreed.

"What about yours?" Zhao Xiuxiu asked again. "Your period is earlier than mine, so you need to prepare your clothes in advance."

"It's still early."

"What do you mean early? You just don't care." Zhao Xiuxiu scolded her. "I'll have Cheng Ge cut two more small ones and send them over together. Yours is also made of old cotton fabric, I'll sew it for you."

Ye Zhen did not refuse.

"OK."

"Speak less and eat some fruit. Director Zhang will be making rounds this afternoon."

She handed over the peeled apple. Zhao Xiuxiu took the apple and was still talking about the stitches when Ye Zhen was already flipping through the nursing records.

On the fourteenth day, the urine protein level dropped from two plus signs to one plus sign.

Zhang Huilan bumped into Ye Zhen during her rounds.

"Blood pressure is stable at around 130/84, urine protein is decreasing, and follow-up liver and kidney function tests show no deterioration. If this can be maintained until 37 weeks, elective termination can be considered."

Ye Zhen flipped through the notebook.

"Where's the amniotic fluid?"

"Last week's follow-up examination showed a measurement of 88 mm, which is slightly larger than when the placenta was admitted. The placenta has not aged further."

"It's alright for now."

"Don't worry, Dr. Ye, I'm keeping a closer eye on your sister-in-law than you are."

Zhang Huilan chuckled.

"I've worked in obstetrics for twenty years and I've never embarrassed myself."

When Gu Zheng got home in the evening, he was stirring the wok in the kitchen.

The range hood was humming loudly, and the wok was filled with scrambled eggs and tomatoes, but no scallions were added—Ye Zhen remembered clearly that the smell of scallions made her feel nauseous lately.

"How's your wife today?"

"It's stable now."

Ye Zhen sat down at the dining table, picked up her chopsticks, and took a sip of white rice porridge.

"My blood pressure has dropped to over 130, and the protein in my urine is also decreasing."

Gu Zheng brought out the stir-fried dishes and took out two steamed buns from the steamer.

"Could it be born in the northern part of the city?"

"Director Zhang's idea is to strive for thirty-seven weeks."

Ye Zhen took a bite of the steamed bun.

"Two and a half weeks left."

Gu Zheng sat down opposite her and stared at her for a while.

Did you throw up today?

"No, I felt a little nauseous this morning, but I managed to get through it."

"Why hold it in? Just vomit if you need to. Holding it in is bad for your stomach."

Ye Zhen was too lazy to argue with him and lowered her head to eat.

Gu Zheng stood up again, took a bottle of milk from the refrigerator, unscrewed the cap, poured it into a cup, and pushed it in front of her.

"Finish it."

She didn't say anything and finished her milk.

The thirty-sixth week plus five days.

At four o'clock in the morning, Ye Zhen was woken up by the ringing of the phone.

The voice on the other end of the microphone was that of a night shift nurse in the obstetrics and gynecology department, speaking at a noticeably faster pace.

"Dr. Ye, Zhao Xiuxiu's blood pressure has gone up to 155/100. Director Zhang is already on his way to the hospital."

Ye Zhen threw off the covers and sat up.

"How's the baby's heartbeat?"

"The fetal heart rate is 148, and there is no deceleration yet. The mother says she has a headache, which is worse than during the day."

"I'll be right there."

Ye Zhen hung up the phone, and Gu Zheng had already rolled off the bed from the other side, his pants half-pulled up.

"I send you."

Ye Zhen put on her coat and went downstairs with him.

When they arrived at the obstetrics and gynecology department, Zhang Huilan had arrived three minutes earlier than her.

Zhao Xiuxiu leaned against the headboard, her face pale, one hand supporting her forehead.

Zhang Huilan is already adjusting the intravenous injection rate of labetalol.

"First, bring the blood pressure down."

Ye Zhen stood aside, not intervening, only watching the numbers on the monitor.

Half an hour later, the blood pressure dropped to 142/92.

Zhao Xiuxiu's headache lessened, and she leaned against the pillow, her hands still trembling.

"Zhenzhen... is she going to give birth early?"

Ye Zhen glanced at Zhang Huilan.

Zhang Huilan took off her reading glasses.

"At 36 weeks and 5 days, the fetal lungs are basically mature. With this spike in blood pressure tonight, the risks of waiting any longer outweigh the risks of premature birth."

She turned to ask Ye Zhen.

"What's your opinion?"

"Termination is agreed upon. If the cervical condition is poor, proceed with a cesarean section."

Zhang Huilan nodded.

"We'll schedule a surgical assessment first thing tomorrow morning to confirm the baby's position and blood clotting. If everything goes well, the surgery will be the day after tomorrow morning."

Ye Zhen bent down and took Zhao Xiuxiu's hand.

"Sister-in-law, the baby is almost 37 weeks along. Will you be able to adapt after the baby is born?"

"Dr. Zhang has been performing surgeries for twenty years, so you can rest assured."

Zhao Xiuxiu bit her lip and nodded vigorously.

Ye Zhen stayed in the ward until dawn before leaving.