While Melody wasn't the only obstetrician at Horizon Light Hospital, she was one of the few who didn't do house calls for Animalians who lay shelled eggs. Those who did had to carry IPads so they could record data on their observations. It was a good thing that ultrasound machines were becoming more portable, and that Animalian eggs didn't hinder the ultrasound machines from viewing inside. However, the obstetrician's office wasn't boring. Always something new to discover.
---
"Hello Delilah." She said as Delilah and Red Cloud came in to the examination room.
"Hello doctor." Said Delilah as she sat down in the patient's chair.
"Nervous about your first ultrasound?" Asked Melody.
"A little." Replied Delilah.
"Don't worry," assured Melody, as she prepped the machine, "the worst you'll be feeling is a little cold."
"Okay- Hoo! That's cold!" Said Delilah as the scanner touched her flesh. But they were rewarded as an image of their new child appeared on the screen.
"Is it a colt or a filly?" Asked Red Cloud, not getting s lot of details from the display.
"All we can tell at this point is that it's healthy. Gender won't be clearer until two to three months later." Said Melody, writing some notes down.
"If it's a filly," said Delilah, somewhat dignified like, "she will not be copying that ridiculous television program. No self-respecting horse would have marks like that on their flank." Melody nodded, knowing what show she was talking about.
---
"Hello Clara," Melody said later, "my, my are you large today."
"If Richard gave me fat kids, he's going to be feeling it." Said Clara, giving Richard a mock punch on the arm.
"Heh, she's just playing. I know she'll love them anyway." Said Richard, sheepishly.
"Well then, we'd better get started." Said Melody, prepping the Scanner. When they looked at the screen, they were all somewhat surprised by what they saw.
"What is it?" Asked Clara, not knowing what had made Melody say 'Oh my!'.
"You're not this big because of fat kids." Said Melody somewhat surprised, "You're this big because you're having four at once, known to humans as quadruplets."
"What!?" Said Richard, very surprised, "Four!? How on earth did that happen!?"
---
Near the end of the day, Melody was compiling her notes on the studies for today:
"Animalians whose animals only have one child at a time have that carry over to their Animalian form. Animalians who have litters that only have two to four remain at that number, while those who have litters in excess of this have that number reduced to two to four. Those whose gestation periods are shorter than nine months have their gestation lengthened to six months, while those who have gestation periods longer than nine months have it shortened to nine months. Fetal development remains relatively the same as humans, but it is unknown if those born premature by human standards will need extra care after being born at this time."