When the doctor came in and began talking about worrisome things, it was like being startled awake from a pleasant dream.

For almost an hour we’d been hypnotized by the kaleidoscopic black-and-white images of our unborn child, featured on a screen above the hospital bed. The small room was dark and warm and permeated by the soft drone of electronics. The technician moved her wand across Desiree’s belly and from time-to-time re-applied the ultrasound gel.