Babies & Bathwater
Encyclopedia
"Babies & Bathwater" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of House
, which premiered on the Fox
network on April 19, 2005.
A pulmonary embolism
forces the father to face his own dilemma, as he must choose to try to save his wife, or his child. He chooses his wife. The procedure goes awry and she bleeds into her abdomen, but there is nothing the team can do to save her. The father hesitates over okaying the c-section, but House convinces him that Naomi would want the baby to be born. The delivery is touch and go, but eventually a newborn's cries are heard - just as it is ascertained that Naomi has died.
In the clinic, a young vegan couple is arrested for child neglect
despite House's treatment plan when Cuddy goes over his head and calls social services. After finding out that the parents had gotten nutritional advice from a qualified practitioner, House orders a test that reveals a shrunken thymus (DiGeorge's Syndrome). He informs Cuddy just before the second board meeting. It highlights for Cuddy why House is valuable, and the price they will pay if Vogler continues to turn the hospital into his fiefdom
.
Meanwhile Vogler tries to convince the board of directors to dismiss Dr. House. When Dr. Wilson stands up for House, Vogler calls for his dismissal from the board. Wilson chooses to resign from the hospital rather than have his reputation stained. Since the original motion to fire House was defeated, the Board must wait one business day before re-voting on the issue, as per the Board's bylaws. At the next meeting, Cuddy votes "No"; this prompts Vogler to call for her immediate dismissal also. After giving an impassioned speech to the rest of the Board, Cuddy walks out. It is later discovered that the Board, instead of voting to fire House and Cuddy, voted to dismiss Vogler as Chairman of the Board. This causes the departure of Vogler and his $100 million, which will have negative budget effects on the hospital.
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, which premiered on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network on April 19, 2005.
Plot
After Cameron resigns, Chase, Foreman and House attempt to solve a mystery case surrounding a pregnant woman who is having brain and kidney dysfunction. The mother, Naomi, must grapple with the dilemma to deliver her child early, and receive the treatment for her small cell lung cancer, or try to give the fetus an increased chance at survival by carrying into her 29th week. However, putting off treatment for even one week (to give her fetus a better chance) will risk her own life and survival chances. Naomi decides to have the c-section, but Vogler interferes and cancels the procedure.A pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
forces the father to face his own dilemma, as he must choose to try to save his wife, or his child. He chooses his wife. The procedure goes awry and she bleeds into her abdomen, but there is nothing the team can do to save her. The father hesitates over okaying the c-section, but House convinces him that Naomi would want the baby to be born. The delivery is touch and go, but eventually a newborn's cries are heard - just as it is ascertained that Naomi has died.
In the clinic, a young vegan couple is arrested for child neglect
Child neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
despite House's treatment plan when Cuddy goes over his head and calls social services. After finding out that the parents had gotten nutritional advice from a qualified practitioner, House orders a test that reveals a shrunken thymus (DiGeorge's Syndrome). He informs Cuddy just before the second board meeting. It highlights for Cuddy why House is valuable, and the price they will pay if Vogler continues to turn the hospital into his fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
.
Meanwhile Vogler tries to convince the board of directors to dismiss Dr. House. When Dr. Wilson stands up for House, Vogler calls for his dismissal from the board. Wilson chooses to resign from the hospital rather than have his reputation stained. Since the original motion to fire House was defeated, the Board must wait one business day before re-voting on the issue, as per the Board's bylaws. At the next meeting, Cuddy votes "No"; this prompts Vogler to call for her immediate dismissal also. After giving an impassioned speech to the rest of the Board, Cuddy walks out. It is later discovered that the Board, instead of voting to fire House and Cuddy, voted to dismiss Vogler as Chairman of the Board. This causes the departure of Vogler and his $100 million, which will have negative budget effects on the hospital.
External links
- "Babies & Bathwater" at Fox.com