We want Glasnost, Give us Pravda!

At times it feels like getting information would be easier in a communist state in the 1930s than in a maternity ward. This morning I was delighted to stumble across the paediatrician that resuscitated Capucine after her birth on Friday. I couldn’t get my questions out quick enough and I hung on every syllable of every word that he said. It was just a shame that he said it all in French (now’s the time when you see the real limits of your ability to speak a foreign language). Thankfully Sandie was there to help understand both what was said, but also what was not said. It was obvious after the paediatrician had left that we could have picked over the bones of the conversation for the next two days but the overall message, I hope, is one of cautious optimism. There will be a brain scan every Tuesday and Friday for the next two weeks. Only at the end of this period can we see if the potential problems related to the difficulties at the birth have led to anything really serious. It is a nervous time indeed even despite the fact that all the other signs are good. Without that confirmation neither Sandie nor I will sleep easy.

The other thing which this led me to thinking is the difficulty of the job the doctors and paediatricians do. I think it is inevitable that faced with a barrage of questions from understandably nervous (and therefore unpredictable) parents, the rational thing to do is to release only the minimum amount of information for fear of information arbitrage if the same question is asked to different doctors (which it inevitably will be). A vicious circle then ensues; a doctor’s desire to protect his own skin and the parents, (who are invariably ill-qualified to understand the technical nature of the information being shared) mean a drying up of information which only increases the nervousness and frustration of the parents. I think Glasnost in Bayonne will take a wee while longer even if there is no physical wall to break down.

Back in the "real" world, both Capucine and Gaston seemed calm today, especially Gaston. Capucine likes to squeeze my finger when I hold her hand, so that's something which already gives me a lot of joy. Some other information that is easy to digest is the fact that Capucine measures 40.2cm and Gaston 42.6cm. That at least is information that can be confirmed by the naked eye!