The Good Doctor

You're smiling.

Why?

Well...

That is...

your menstrual cycle.

It's been a year since we lost the baby,

and I finished my anti-coagulants.

Which means...

We can try to conceive again.

Mm-hmm. I have an appointment with Dr. Winkler today.

If she gives us the go-ahead...

A year was the minimum.

Good vibes, Shaun.

Send good vibes into the universe, good things come back.

Vibe with me, babe.

I would very much like to have a baby with Lea!

Okay.

Well, get ready to make one.

Okay. We are going to make a baby!

Yeah.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Oh.

I have 23 minutes until I need to leave for work.

Should we save your swimmy guys until I ovulate?

Oh, recent research demonstrated

frequent ejaculation improves sperm motility.

Oh! In that case...

Oh, yeah.

We can talk about it. Okay? Thanks so much.

Isabel.

What are you doing here?

Gena Cooper. Pregnant with sextuplets.

That's what all my calls and texts were about.

So you would already know if you'd answered.

You show up, ask me for a consult,

like you're any other doctor?

Whatever the appropriate approach is for ex-wives,

tell me, and I'll take it.

Couple couldn't conceive, so I prescribed clomiphene.

Six babies just after one round.

They won the lottery. Or lost.

Two require immediate surgical intervention.

At least. Know any surgeons?

Marcus, this family needs your help.

If needed, I will step off the case

and I will find them another O. B.

Stay.

It wouldn't be fair to the patient.

Each of your babies gets their own dedicated team of doctors.

Now, since all of the babies will be

under 2 pounds at birth,

they will all need a lot of care, attention,

and time in our NICU, maturing those lungs.

Once they're feeling strong enough to make some demands,

you'll hear that beautiful cry.

A baby crying is a good thing.

It lets us know the baby's healthy.

And that's when we name them,

once they've cried and we know they're okay.

I wish they could stay inside Mom longer and get bigger.

Baby F's airway mass is already causing

severe narrowing of the trachea,

and her lungs aren't developing properly.

A few more days, and her heart could fail.

So we deliver today. Yes.

Everyone ready?

Baby A through Baby E

will all be born in under three minutes.

Baby A.

At birth, they'll each be given an Apgar score

to let us know how they are doing.

7 or above is reassuring.

It's a girl.

Baby B.

Alright. Hello.

Baby A... Apgar 7.

It's a boy.

Surprise. Mono-di.

B and C share the same placenta.

Very rare. Identical twins.

Another boy, obviously.

Baby B... Apgar 5.

Baby C... Apgar 4.

Baby D.

It's... a boy.

Baby E.

Baby D... Apgar 6.

Spina bifida.

Baby E's a girl.

Baby E... Apgar 6.

Baby E will go to the O. R.

For her spina bifida surgery after delivery.

Exposing Baby F to EXIT procedure.

Once Baby A through Baby E are in the NICU,

Dr. Barnes will deliver Baby F's arm and head

through the C-section incision,

leaving the placenta attached.

And, Mom, that allows you to keep providing oxygen

to your daughter.

Nurse Denning, take Papa to check on his other babies.

We're all good here, Jack. Dr. Lim?

Then, Dr. Lim will perform the EXIT procedure.

First time it's ever been done in a multiple birth.

She's got this.

Moving through the oropharynx cavity.

Baby F's umbilical cord looks very thin and friable.

Placenta's still attached?

Yep. Mama's giving her all the oxygen she needs.

At the larynx. Approaching the trachea.

I've identified the cyst.

The pulse is extremely faint.

The cyst is causing total obliteration of the airway.

Microblator.

I've completely lost the pulse in the cord.

We have less than a minute to deliver.

Having trouble visualizing the base.

Maybe you're not there yet?

Probing deeper. Keep going.

A little more. I see it. You're two millimeters away.

Got it.

Cyst is decompressed. Airway's open.

Placing E. T. tube.

Finally... Baby F.

It's a girl. Okay.

Good work.

Baby F... Apgar 5.

Thank you for taking this on.

The hard part's just beginning.

Okay.

Captions by VITAC...

Baby A's one and five-minute Apgar?

Seven and nine.

Mom should be coming to. Take her to meet her parents.

Keep B and C together.

We have two different NICU rooms.

Neither boy is crying, and co-bedding

identical-twin preemies can be beneficial for both.

That's anecdotal. Risks include poor thermoregulation,

increased... Just do it.

Baby D is not crying,

plus he has nevus simplex and meconium-stained fluid.

Get the heel stick and go tell the lab it's stat.

Spinal lesion covered with sterile wet telfa.

Heading to O. R. 2.

Keep me posted.

And how's the star of our show? Baby F.

Not singing yet, but airway is clear.

Take her to NICU. Hopefully she cries soon.

Hey. Hi.

My hero.

Where are my babies?

They're in the NICU now.

Except for Baby A here.

She got a head start on her siblings.

Listen to those healthy lungs.

Mm. First to cry. She's an overachiever.

What do you think about Abigail?

Forever Baby A.

I love it. And her.

How 'bout it, B? Can we get those lungs strong enough

to move you to a CPAP?

You hear those studies on co-bedding identical preemies?

No. C's cyanotic. He's tachypneic and retracting.

Check his liver.

The research is totally shaded by confirmation bias.

Palpable three centimeters below the costal margin.

If you'd been more assertive, we wouldn't be stuck together.

Systolic murmur.

Why weren't you more assertive?

If I were a surgical attending, I would have been.

I had to fight just to be on this case.

You're gonna need an echo, chest X-ray...

X-ray, BNP, and CBC to confirm congestive heart failure.

I know.

Let's make a deal.

We only talk to each other when medically necessary.

Fine.

Inset the needle in the posterior iliac crest.

Later, I have to accompany Lea to an OB-GYN appointment.

Dr. Andrews will supervise you for a few hours.

Everything okay?

We don't know yet.

Last year, she miscarried at 22 weeks.

Good precision.

When Baby D was first born, you kinda took a moment.

That why?

Yes.

I think I've penetrated the bone.

Syringe? No, you haven't.

You will hear and feel a pop when you do.

Go a bit deeper.

Dr. Perez, you need to be firmer.

More aggressive.

Go ahead.

Syringe?

Now? Yes.

As a surgeon, you must be decisive and aggressive.

Aspirating the bone marrow.

Very good.