Mark Tries To Perform A C-Section | ER

With Jodie O'Brien's (Colleen Flynn) baby failing to deliver properly, Mark is forced to perform an emergency c-section in the ER despite having never done one before.
From "Love's Labor Lost" (Season 1 Episode 19)
First broadcast March 9th, 1995
One of ER's best remembered early episodes, this episode won five Emmy Awards: writing (for Lance Gentile), directing (for Mimi Leder), editing (for Nick Tuber and Randy Jon Morgan), sound editing and sound mixing. Colleen Flynn also earned a nomination for Oustanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Jodie O'Brien.

[@crimsonclover9871]

A truly remarkable episode of television. I remember holding my breath the entire time. The acting was incredible. I could feel Mark's tension...Chen's fear...the husband's anguish. Perfection all round.

[@andrewgundy3045]

Same show runners from ER and West Wing that’s why you see so much crossover. Brad Whitford as the husband.

[@F5_cena]

Er did awesome at these emotional all around from Drs to patients great writing and actors

[@l.a.3479]

​@@F5_cena Punctuation makes a nonsensical comment understandable.

[@PlumbPitiful]

Love's Labor Lost is listed as one of the 100 best television episodes of all time.

[@closer71]

Yeah. I remember just being floored by this episode at the time. It definitely leaves a lasting impression.

[@kevinvh2964]

I would argue that this could fall into the top ten.

[@ashleynelson8883]

It's the very first episode I ever saw of ER and I've been obsessed ever since

[@CatieCass]

This poor woman was so scared. At least she got to hear her husband say he loved her one more time before she died. And that poor guy lost his wife! It's great that his baby survived, but I can't imagine his grief. What a horrible situation.

[@Dumdumblonde]

One of the best episodes of the show. The acting, the fear, the tension. So so good. I love how this episode starts off nice and light and everything is great then just descends into chaos.

[@melonyehood9586]

It really, really was. I mean I was on the edge of my seat.

[@leewhitworth9142]

This might be my favourite episode of ER. The pace, the suspense, the acting, the filming, it's all just so immersive. I remember feeling like I was in the OR with them while first watching this, when Dr Greene says "Everybody just take a deep breath" later on I actually did take a deep breath, I was so into it.

[@Ozzywozzy]

The pure controlled chaos of this show is truly deserving of much more recognition than it ever deserved.

[@ronaldskoczen5228]

This episode hits home hard. My wife had to have an emergency c-section 6 years ago with our first kid. Not this desparate of an emergency, and she was able to get in a controlled OR thankfully, but still I almost lost her and our son. Thankfully after some speedbumps, they’re both fine today, and we have a beautiful 4 year old daughter, too! But I’d be lying if this episode didn’t cross my mind that day...

[@RogueBlackOp]

Glad to hear! I was scared just watching this episode. Can’t imagine what it must’ve felt like to endure it

[@Readdead2779]

Same thing happened to my wife and I agree this episode does cross my mind sometimes

[@christopheromeara1442]

This was one of the most difficult episodes to watch, the Actor playing Dr. Green was just amazing.

[@keithchilders9395]

Is that Josh Lyman?

[@KlassyKat45]

@@keithchilders9395 Yes, it is. Love Bradley Whitford.

[@KlassyKat45]

That would be Anthony Edwards and he was great in that role. I haven't see that episode in long time. One of the best. I'll have to get my DVD's out and watch.

[@matthewpacey8877]

He received an Emmy nomination for this episode

[@lexkanyima2195]

@@matthewpacey8877 it was one of the most edgiest episode

[@djsusiequ2422]

I’m a doctor. I don’t know any OB who would drag a pregnant patient in the general ER like that; specially if they have preeclampsia. The OB should be liable for not being there at all

[@mknextd00r]

they misdiagnosed her in the episode

[@kathleencolwell8947]

“Metz” “The long scissors”😂😂😂(OR/Critical Care RN here) Hey, I had two (planned) C-Sections (two breech babies). Both of them took less than ten minutes. How many OB Docs in the Chicago hospital??? They were ALL too busy for an emergency morphing into a sh_t show?

[@DrCarter33]

Yeah it was a great chain of errors. Starting with the misdiagnosed pre-eclampsia

[@4dyamondx745]

This was not in real life, it is a storyline, I worked in the ER for years and rotated to OB, it does not take that long for a Doctor of OB, (COLBURN) to get to the hospital, it was like 5 hours for her to arrive.

[@4dyamondx745]

@@kathleencolwell8947 episiotomy, was really the main issue here, coupled with the misdiagnosis that she had preeclampsia, and Greene being totally over his head, was a great teaching case, (medical worker over 30years, degreed over 10)

[@JaxxStarr81]

This is one of the best episodes of ER, but also one of the most heartbreaking. I still cry the moment when Green cries on the train.

[@brownskingirl6988]

Horrific but great at the same time. Scenes and acting like this is why ER was one the best medical dramas and my all time fav.

[@franklingauna1984]

One if not the best Er episode's ever done

[@sweetlife031]

This and 2x07 - *Hell Or High Water* are high on the list of the best ER episodes ever made 💓💓👌🏻

[@chrisg1472]

Lewis: You're asking me? Greene: I'm asking God

[@skdewolf7606]

Looking back at this as a mother - told my OB to rip me apart like a turkey, save the baby. He did, and my son lived. I did too. Great ep.

[@Tyler-uo7rf]

Ok

[@PlumbPitiful]

What's amazing to me is not only all the lines the actors have to remember but the fact that they are all doing something. Every doctor, every nurse, every intern, Etc they all are doing a specific job and they look like they know exactly what they're doing. How do the directors teach them to do that? How do they make it look like they are really suturing someone up when they don't know how to suture?

[@Treefort1]

Nearly 19 years later the power of this episode is still has me breathless and in knots.

[@michaelodom182]

Really it's been nearly 29 years, but this episode is still very powerful to this day

[@patriciafoster3347]

I remember being exhausted when this was over.

[@F5_cena]

What the hell were you doing

[@sexyhomeowner9345]

@@F5_cena Lmao

[@F5_cena]

@@sexyhomeowner9345 don't you want to know Patricia was doing?

[@angiemc3277]

Patricia Foster I remember crying my eyes out when this aired. This was all everyone was talking about the next day at school.

[@sexyhomeowner9345]

@@F5_cena Yes

[@hothotheat3000]

Nine months of joy, excitement, baby showers, and then she’s dead. Imagine that man having to call her family, his family, his office.

[@monanas]

I saw this when i was a kid back in the 90s... I grow up to be a midwife and i can relate to this. This is exactly what we are going through in such cases

[@phoenixmagi2]

Whats a midwife

[@beetlejamie8065]

That’s wonderful! Midwives are essential. You’re awesome!

[@beetlejamie8065]

@@phoenixmagi2 a midwife is a medical professional specifically trained in obstetrics. Midwives deliver babies & treat pregnant women before, during, & after labor.

[@4dyamondx745]

@@phoenixmagi2 DULA in today's world.

[@4dyamondx745]

A kid is a small goat.

[@MahmoudOscar98]

One of the greatest episodes in television history

[@dianezell5517]

I can remember having to leave the room and take a couple of deep breaths during this episode. The stress was incredible.

[@chuno99]

I just watched this episode. This whole sequence is worthy of a cinema movie. Just incredible.

[@maggiechan33]

This was/is one of my favorite episode.

[@l.a.3479]

*whole*

[@4dyamondx745]

WHOLE.

[@1needBycRidezzz]

Damn, Mark really didn’t know what he was doing

[@F5_cena]

No emergency situations are very stressful and these things can happen

[@katscratchfever3506]

Emergency physicians aren’t familiar with everything that could go wrong with an OB patient. It’s awful, but it happens.

[@elizabethdalley4350]

Anthony Edwards did an amazing job on this episode

[@theITproductions1]

I'm sorry probably the last thing on anyone's mind but the husband is Josh Lyman from the West Wing!!

[@stephaniepinto9390]

First thing that came to my mind.

[@LuisMartinez-rw2lj]

When he came on the screen my brother and I shouted “DONNA!”

[@pixeldragon6387]

And a few episodes before, Donna was a patients parent with doctor Ross, the woman that couldn’t afford food for her malnourished son

[@taylorhagen3916]

After now loving Josh, it makes this episode even harder to watch

[@tomvandl]

Watched the Episode right now for the first time and thought even at the very beginning "man...it is so obvious that dr. Green cannot handle this". I felt so bad for him. Great episode.

[@lexkanyima2195]

It was tension

[@gisellep177]

I grew up watching ER as a kid and it was THE BEST SHOW EVER

[@Bends95]

The dramatic tension was so powerful in the show!

[@vickiross9002]

I loved this show I watched it all the time when it was on tv

[@Ebullientdrift]

A regular healthy pregnant woman is prone to suffer a great deal of complications during a C-section, even in the OR. How much more an unstable preeclamptic woman with a fetal presentation distocia?? And in the ER?? No matter how many times Dr Greene had done this before, the case was going south the moment the woman started seizing, eclampsia had set in. At the very least he should have called for an Anesthesiologyst, to secure the airway, start a central line and have reanimation meds and blood derivates ready, because she was going to bleed big time. Greene took too much on himself with almost no help at all.

[@jamessanders145]

He had been begging for help from OB for hours.

[@YichenWang]

Mark's orders are so clear and powerful.

[@dmdm528]

I still love E.R. but that episode was heartbreaking and terrifying.

[@ashleyc506]

And this whole time, OB won’t take her up.

[@satinbarbi]

The entire fault rests with OB.

[@jamessanders145]

but they try succeed at pinning it on him

[@oliveiradalbon]

Amazing episode. Love Anthony ❤

[@DrCarter33]

Best episode of the entire series

[@saracks]

i know this is incredibly unrealistic but this is one of the many reasons why i dont want to ever have kids. the risks of something going wrong or HORRIBLY wrong are too high and i aint taking my chances

[@isildb1927]

The same as me - this scene traumatized me a lot in my childhood :(

[@meteoexpert]

"Mark".....amazing!!!!

[@ThePlaton20]

This scene skips the most important part of the show. After the mother dies, the camera shows an exhausted Dr Greene walking into a conference room where the father is holding and smiling with his newborn baby. Dr. Green is about to deliver news that will change the father for life. But the magic of that scene is that the camera doesnt let us hear the dialogue, it just stays behind the door and shows Dr Green telling the father that his wife is dead. Absolutely chilling and it's made ever the more poignant by the fact that we can't hear what they are talking about.

[@therealmistahjay]

They posted that scene too. It’s on a different clip.

[@KrisWolf4]

I'd definitely by this series from pilot to series finale!!

[@sarcasticallyrearranged]

I imagine that buying every season would be expensive, unless it's cheaper to buy the box set?

[@l.a.3479]

It's on Hulu.

[@ThePlaton20]

This entire episode is BS. First off, there's no way a major hospital like that only has 1 OB/GYN in the hospital. Secondly, if the OB/GYN attending is tied up in an emergency procedure, there's always a 4th year senior ob/gyn resident available that is perfectly capable of doing a c-section. This kind of stuff would only happen in a rural hospital with no ob/gyn present.

[@ksagstertohi6156]

It’s called Television.

[@skdewolf7606]

The truth is you go in and pull the baby out with your hands. Been there. Then deal with the mothers blood loss without all the surgical mishaps.

[@susanshew2373]

Its TV, people!

[@F5_cena]

​@@ksagstertohi6156 try logic when Thanos is attacking earth where are the dc characters?

[@Jupichan]

I think I read somewhere once that this episode was based on a true story from a very rural hospital, actually. Unfortunately, when translating it to a large (even if not well-funded) hospital, it doesn't really add up.

[@crendotips7120]

Holy crap this is brilliant =)

[@MarlboroShinobi]

What a leader. Fearless. " ok, everybody just take a deep breath, alright?"

[@neriwest3161]

This is one of the best and absolutely heart breaking episodes with stellar performance from Anthony and from all the actors. That's been said, we don't do emergency c section without OB involved. Pregnant mothers coming through ER doors even just for a sneeze go directly to Obs ward. But don't know how it happened those days. And if there's no OB avaliable this could still happen. But very rarely these days I'd say

[@cameronwilliams3599]

Damn, this is why "ER" was one of the best.

[@egthatyoutubes8094]

Damn, that father was actually reasonable in his state of panic

[@CHRIS-tg5cn]

Great scene if your goal is drama. In reality; no ER doc is performing a c section in the ER, much less an induction on a preeclampsia pt. The obgyn would be CRUCIFIED for not prioritizing this pt over others upstairs. Also, failure in communicating the degree of urgency by the ER staff to ob would be sprawled along fault blaming. If ob was actually this tied up, more help would be called in by other attending and residents.

[@leonhardeuler675]

2:58 Pretty sure that's Michael Crichton (Jurassic park and also co-creator of ER) assisting Mark. In addition to being a very famous writer, also a graduate of Harvard Med.

[@sexyhomeowner9345]

That's definitely not him, lol.

[@ttt2080]

No Crichton was like 6 ft 8in tall so its not him.

[@zlatanp479]

This is why Dr. Greene was the best physician in that hospital.

[@beverlyarcher3744]

No he sucked

[@andrewgundy3045]

This episode was absolutely insane - OB messed up here. These are the types of scenes that make you love Dr. Greene.

[@naturalcanopy9148]

Absolutely breathtaking, gripping television. So raw and real. As a young man watching it, it was stunning. Now? My own wife underwent an emergency C-section and that feeling of dread and the air almost being sucked out of the room. Captured brilliantly here.

[@MatthewKearney69]

U could hear it in mark’s voice.. “I’m asking god”. For some reason nobody from ob was available plus he sort of misdiagnosed her at the beginning and she left n passed out in parking lot☹️

[@samanthalucas8070]

NO WAY MAJOR HOSPITAL ONLY HAS ONE OB / GYN

[@wilson2455]

a young Bradley Whitford (West Wing) as the father

[@EverythingEvo]

Correct episode is Season 1 Episode 20.

[@bostoncityofchampions6581]

I know this is great TV, but there is no damn way on earth ANY ER doctor is going to do a C-Section in the ER if the hospital has an OB department.

[@elloguvna6820]

Last moment alive 💔

[@noorrougelewis6704]

This is stressful just to watch.

[@sounsure9108]

And on grey’s anatomy one doctor does it on a kitchen table with no equipment and both mom and baby live

[@slipknotjc1]

Yeah but that show is unrealistic. ER is very realistic by far surpasses that crap 💩 show.

[@mgfoster9197]

That same doctor also did a crash c in the hallway during a code pink which ended similarly to this episode.

[@l.a.3479]

Who cares about Grey's Anatomy?! Not me!

[@erinpufunt]

It’s Josh!!!!🥰🥰🥰

[@thomasalexanian927]

I almost passed out during this episode.

[@l.a.3479]

So did Carter and Chen.

[@thomasalexanian927]

@@l.a.3479this episode was so fucking intense

[@sniperdude12a]

Didn't realize Bradley Whitford was in this episode too

[@SuperAna1954]

😢o nascimento de uma criança envolve muitos riscos, mesmo com todo o avanço da medicina. Continuam a morrer mulheres em consequência do parto. Muitas vezes também os bebés morrem 😢😢😢

[@kiara198923]

Wow!

[@shelbychilingirian1479]

Not 🤦‍♀️

[@Deborahtunes]

Was this the episode where they get sued?

[@JessicaWebber840]

How could you miss that the mother has a blood clot

[@dfgolez5821]

What happened?? Did the mother and child make it?

[@woohooboy]

The child made it, the mother sadly didn't......

[@dfgolez5821]

@@woohooboy awww... well thanks

[@beverlyarcher3744]

And Greene gets sued for malpractice

[@mgfoster9197]

They saved the baby but the mom ultimately went into DIC and that was it.

[@lexkanyima2195]

@@mgfoster9197 it felt too edgy

[@sazbomb6996]

Jake Peralta's dad

[@4dyamondx745]

Greene was way over his head in this episode, it was wrong for OB to put all of this on him.

[@johnwhite2576]

where was OB-GYN??

[@ThePlaton20]

They were supposedly in the OR doing some kind of emergent procedure on a different patient.

[@dr.muslehgamil2780]

excitable

[@shelbychilingirian1479]

Mark tries to save Jodie. Pregnant 🤰 👩.

[@alicenunesdeoliveiracarnei8752]

Foi erro médico, por.isso a mãe faleceu, dr Green errou.

[@elliewillams6224]

1:27 1:28 1:29

[@giordanotirelli6028]

Happy birthday at dr susan lewis from italian boy live in rome and I m fan of er

[@sharonmathers2928]

Why. Jodie. Have. Bladder stone? Dr greene. Should did something about it.

[@user-sc4vr7cx5c]

Moron

[@l.a.3479]

What?!

[@taylorhagen3916]

My thought process no don't do this to josh Wait Jody, his sisters name was Joanie Oh wait chill girl, this isn't even josh lyman I love Bradley Whitford

[@sharonmathers2928]

Jodie husband need. Get attorney suit mail find another. Dr.

[@celenascheede-bergdahl5473]

You know this isn't real, right? ;)