Unplanned Parenthood (House)
Encyclopedia
"Unplanned Parenthood" is the fifth episode of the seventh season
of the American medical drama House
. It first aired on October 18, 2010.
) giving birth to a baby in a hospital, in the company of her grown-up daughter Justine (Gabrielle Christian
) who is later implied to be a result of an unplanned pregnancy. The baby experiences breathing problems, which House and his team conclude is caused by pulmonary edema
secondary to a liver failure
causing insufficient production of plasma proteins. They suspect Caroli disease
to be the underlying cause of the liver failure, but fail to confirm it, leaving the case still inexplicable.
Meanwhile, following Cuddy's directive, House challenges Foreman and Taub to hire a female doctor to join the team. When Cuddy asks House to babysit her daughter, Rachel, both House and Wilson learn a few hard lessons in parenting.
While babysitting, House is momentarily distracted by trying to leave Wilson to babysit Rachel, and Rachel makes a mess of his Chinese takeaway food. Wilson pulls a coin from her mouth and fears she has swallowed the change from the Chinese food. House and Wilson surreptitiously keep her under observation after they think that there is a dime missing from the change, but they later realize that they had miscalculated the bill and that all of the change was accounted for.
House decides to buy time by transfusing the newborn with the mother's blood. The baby improves but the team is unsure why.
The mother has melanoma
, a mole under her finger nail, which has been passed to the baby. She is unusually healthy for someone with late-stage melanoma, and the team discover it is because she also has lung cancer
which is causing antibodies to be created which are fighting off the melanoma and giving her blood an added factor which helped the baby. The team recommends chemotherapy to treat her lung cancer but she opts to postpone the surgery for nine days to make sure the baby has fully recovered. She dies unexpectedly of a pulmonary embolism
, but her blood harvested at autopsy is enough to cure her baby. Justine, apparently having practically become an unplanned parent, holds the baby in her arms.
Later, House and Cuddy are asleep and one has to go check on Rachel. House lets Cuddy do so, and over the baby monitor he hears Cuddy exclaim, "What? How did you eat a dime?" To which Rachel replies, "House", closing the episode with House's eyes opening in surprise.
House (season 7)
House entered a seventh season on September 20, 2010. House and Cuddy attempt to make a real relationship work and face the question as to whether their new relationship will affect their ability to diagnose patients. The new season features a new opening title sequence...
of the American medical drama House
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...
. It first aired on October 18, 2010.
Plot
The episode starts with Abbey (Jennifer GreyJennifer Grey
Jennifer Elise Grey is an American actress. Her first major roles came in the 1984 war film Red Dawn and the 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In 1987 she starred as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the hit film Dirty Dancing for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. In the early 1990s, Grey...
) giving birth to a baby in a hospital, in the company of her grown-up daughter Justine (Gabrielle Christian
Gabrielle Christian
Gabrielle Christian is an American actress and singer best known for her portrayal of Spencer Carlin in The N original series South of Nowhere and her portrayal of Colby Robson in the web series Girltrash! and its musical prequel film Girltrash!: All Night Long...
) who is later implied to be a result of an unplanned pregnancy. The baby experiences breathing problems, which House and his team conclude is caused by pulmonary edema
Pulmonary edema
Pulmonary edema , or oedema , is fluid accumulation in the air spaces and parenchyma of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause respiratory failure...
secondary to a liver failure
Liver failure
Acute liver failure is the appearance of severe complications rapidly after the first signs of liver disease , and indicates that the liver has sustained severe damage . The complications are hepatic encephalopathy and impaired protein synthesis...
causing insufficient production of plasma proteins. They suspect Caroli disease
Caroli disease
Caroli disease is a rare inherited disorder characterized by dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts. There are two types of Caroli disease, the most common being the simple, or isolated case where the bile ducts are widened by ectasia. The second, more complex, cause is commonly known as Caroli...
to be the underlying cause of the liver failure, but fail to confirm it, leaving the case still inexplicable.
Meanwhile, following Cuddy's directive, House challenges Foreman and Taub to hire a female doctor to join the team. When Cuddy asks House to babysit her daughter, Rachel, both House and Wilson learn a few hard lessons in parenting.
While babysitting, House is momentarily distracted by trying to leave Wilson to babysit Rachel, and Rachel makes a mess of his Chinese takeaway food. Wilson pulls a coin from her mouth and fears she has swallowed the change from the Chinese food. House and Wilson surreptitiously keep her under observation after they think that there is a dime missing from the change, but they later realize that they had miscalculated the bill and that all of the change was accounted for.
House decides to buy time by transfusing the newborn with the mother's blood. The baby improves but the team is unsure why.
The mother has melanoma
Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...
, a mole under her finger nail, which has been passed to the baby. She is unusually healthy for someone with late-stage melanoma, and the team discover it is because she also has lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
which is causing antibodies to be created which are fighting off the melanoma and giving her blood an added factor which helped the baby. The team recommends chemotherapy to treat her lung cancer but she opts to postpone the surgery for nine days to make sure the baby has fully recovered. She dies unexpectedly of 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...
, but her blood harvested at autopsy is enough to cure her baby. Justine, apparently having practically become an unplanned parent, holds the baby in her arms.
Later, House and Cuddy are asleep and one has to go check on Rachel. House lets Cuddy do so, and over the baby monitor he hears Cuddy exclaim, "What? How did you eat a dime?" To which Rachel replies, "House", closing the episode with House's eyes opening in surprise.
Critical response
Zack Handlen at The AV Club rated the episode C+.External links
- "Unplanned Parenthood" at Fox.com