In Praise of Women 7th Heaven)

In Praise of Women is the 14th episode of the 3rd season of "7th Heaven." The episode aired on February 8, 1999.

Summary
Annie is rushed to the hospital when the time comes to give birth to the twins. During a difficult labor, Eric and Annie are forced to accept help from a source that they originally did not want. Meanwhile, the kids spend the day hanging around the waiting room, trying to keep their minds occupied. In an attempt to find something to do, Matt debates whether or not to donate blood. Lucy considers ending her relationship with Jordan, then confides in Mary the reason why she started dating him in the first place. Ruthie tries (but not very hard) to accept that she is becoming a big sister, and Simon spends most of the day in the hospital chapel, praying feverishly for baby brothers

Full Summary
At home, everything is quiet and peaceful as Annie looks at the new crib that she has for the twins. She then imagines that her mother is with her and she gives her the strength that she needs to go through the birth. At the hospital, Eric wakes her up from her sleep.

At the hospital, the kids are waiting for the twins to arrive and hold hands while waiting. Annie is in pain during the labor and Eric is trying to help her through the pain. Eric is concerned that he forgot to do something at the house. Happy is at the house with the back door left open and the refrigerator door left open also. Happy takes a turkey leg out of the refrigerator and walks off with it. Eric tells the kids that it is going to take a long time for the babies to be born. The kids want to go exploring, but Eric tells them that they can't leave and need to stay seated.

Eric advises them that they should sit and think about how the family will be changing. When Eric walks away, the kids leave. The doctor walks in and tells Annie that he thinks that it may be time for a c-section. Annie doesn't want to have a c-section, but the only reason he thinks this is because she has been in labor for a long time.

The doctor will let them discuss everything and Annie tells Eric to find Dr. Hastings. Eric is not happy about this since he was Matt's doctor when he was born. When Eric walks out of the room, he tells Matt that Annie wants him to find Dr. Hastings and then Matt tells Mary. Eric then tells Matt to give blood, which makes Matt scared about Annie's situation.

Eric explains that she is ok, but he should give blood. Matt then explains why women are "cursed" with the pain of childbirth by explaining Adam and Eve. Mary doesn't think that he is right and walks off, ridiculing him for not wanting to give blood.

Happy is at home watching TV and eating on the turkey leg while Mary asks where Ruthie is. Simon doesn't know where she is, but he is more focused on wishing for two boys to be born. Mary tells him that his way of trying to make sure that they are boys is done wrong.

Simon then tells Mary that being a woman is hard and Mary reminds him that he only wants boys because he will be the only boy in the house when Matt leaves. Ruthie arrives in Annie's room and tells Annie that the guys are afraid of the room. Ruthie asks why Annie was screaming. Annie tells Ruthie to find Simon and to tell Eric to return to the room.

Lucy is looking at the babies in the nursery when Matt approaches her and tells her that he is looking for the blood bank. They stop and look at the babies and Matt sits down with Lucy to talk about how you should be married before having babies. Lucy cries about her and Jordan's relationship breaking up. Simon prays in the chapel to have two boys and tells God that he loves his sisters, his dog, and Annie, but he really wants some boys and for Annie to be ok.

Dr. Hastings shows up in the room and asks if Annie is ok with him being part of the delivery. Annie explains that she just wants to not have a c-section. Dr. Hastings tells Annie that he will try his hardest to not have to have a c-section. Annie tells him that she wants something for the pain since it was too early for the epidural.

Annie is singing in her room when the nurse shows up and just looks at her. Eric finds Matt in a room about to give blood, but he tells him that he didn't mean it. Matt wants to get up, but he has already singed up for it. The nurse leaves and Eric drags him out of the room.

Annie is still singing when Lucy is in the room and when she leaves, Annie calls Lucy, Ruthie. Matt tells Annie to see how Annie is doing and Matt talks to Lucy about how Annie is acting weird. Lucy tells Eric about how she talked to Dr. Hastings. Matt comes out of the room and asks Lucy about how she is doing with being away from Jordan on Valentine's Day. Ruthie wants to go swimming, but Mary tells her that she can't go since they probably don't have one.

Mary tells Ruthie that she probably took longer to show up. Ruthie asks if she can be a mommy and an astronaut and Mary tells her that she can be what ever she wants. Matt talks to Simon about women being able to do anything that men can. Simon explains that he wants to be a big brother to boys so that he can teach them boy things to do, like Matt was for him. Matt gives him a big hug and resolves to give blood.

Simon advises him to stop crying. A cat has joined Happy in the house and the cat starts eating things. Annie is going through labor pains when Simon shows up and asks them if he can get his ears pierced. Annie tells him to come back later. Matt tells the nurse that he is back to give blood and the nurse tells him that they still use needles to take the blood and he asks for a cookie.

Dr. Hastings shows up and tells Annie that she is getting close to the delivery, but one of the babies is not ready for the birth. Eric and Annie are concerned, but Dr. Hastings assures her that the babies will be ok and he will do everything that he can to prevent anything bad form happening. Eric asks if she would like a c-section, but she declines. Ruthie tricks Simon that the babies are girls, but Simon gets upset and tells her to not do that again.

Dr. Hastings shows up and tells them that everything will be ok, but the other baby is still in the breech position. Eric wants to tell the kids, but Annie doesn't want him to leave. After Matt finishes and is eating his cookie, a man asks for a cookie before he passes out. The nurse walks in and tells Matt that he is ready to leave. Simon prays to God again in the chapel about the earring.

Annie is still in labor and tells Eric that she forgot how hard it is and that this is the first time that her mother has not been there. Annie asks if the kids are going to sing to her and Eric tells her that they will. Matt walks in and announces that he gave blood and Dr. Hastings shows up and Matt and Dr. Hastings finally meet after Dr. Hastings almost killed Matt during his birth. Lucy tells Mary that her and Jordan are going to break up, but she just didn't want to believe it.

Lucy tells Mary that they didn't have anything in common and it felt good to take Jordan away from Mary. Mary tells Lucy that they shouldn't be in competition, but should be supporting her. Lucy asks Mary for help in breaking up with Jordan. Lucy wants the first day of their new lives to be without Jordan. Mary tells her no and that she has to do it by herself. Lucy asks Mary for some quarters to call him. Happy is now joined by some birds, a squirrel, and a rabbit in the house.

Lucy calls Jordan and wishes him a Happy Valentine's Day. A voice talks to Simon in the chapel and it turns out to be Matt just kidding with him. Eric brings Simon out of the chapel and tells him that Annie is about to give birth. Eric is touching Annie and she threatens him. Dr. Hastings tells Annie that she is fully dilated and she needs to start pushing.

Lucy is on the phone with Jordan when Eric shows up and tells them that Annie is about to give birth. Lucy asks for Eric to wait since she is breaking up with Jordan. Eric walks away and tells her to hurry up since she has missed the other births.

Happy is still watching TV and is changing the channels to watch different programs. Lucy shows up and is upset, especially when Ruthie comments on her losing another boyfriend. Dr. Hastings tells Annie to push and the first baby comes out. Dr. Hastings is about to tell the sex, but Annie asks that Eric tell her.

The nurse tells Annie that the baby looks good and is healthy. The second baby's heart rate is dropping and Dr. Hastings has to rotate the baby. The kids are waiting and Simon tries to console Lucy, but Lucy is overwhelmed with everything that is happening. Lucy then tells Simon about how great Jordan is, but she didn't care about him the same way he cared about her.

Simon applauds her bravery. Ruthie walks over and tells Lucy that she didn't like Jimmy Moon, kind of liked Rod, and really liked Jordan, so maybe she will love the next guy. When Eric walks out of the room, he tells them that one of the babies has been born. Eric doesn't want to tell them if they are boys or girls.

The kids start thinking that Eric only said baby, not babies. Matt talks to Ruthie about how it scary, but exciting. Dr. Hastings tells Annie that the baby is coming out correctly and tells her to push. The baby comes out crying and Simon hears and tells them that those are the cheers for boys. The house is trashed as Happy is asleep on the couch.

Annie presents the two new boys, David and Samuel, and Simon drops to his knees and thanks God. The kids light two cupcakes and start singing the theme from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ruthie asks where they first heard it and there is a flashback to when Matt is watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show with Annie's mother. Annie's mother practices the song with Matt so that he can sing it to Annie when she gave birth to Mary.

Ruthie suggests that since the babies came from heave, maybe Annie's mother sent them down for them to enjoy. They sing the song again as Annie feels the love from her family.

Trivia

 * At the end of this incredibly wonderful episode, the Camden family sing the theme song from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (Annie's favorie show) to their newborn family members, Sam & David. A tradtion that was started by Matt when Mary was born.
 * In the flashback scene at the end of the episode when Matt is watching Mary Tyler Moore with his grandmother, he is holding the same bunny rabbit that Annie uses during labor.

Quotes

 * Annie: (to Eric during labor) Stop touching me! That's what got us in this situation in the first place.


 * Simon: (praying) If you ever wanted to give me something great on Valentine's Day, well Lord this is the Valentine's Day to do it. Those babies have to be boys. They have to be. If they're not, well then this is the last day of my life. And don't get me wrong, I love and respect all the Camden women. Mary is a great older sister. She taught me everything a guy would ever want to know about sports, and it's probably a good thing because between chasing women and school, Matt doesn't have a lot of free time. And there's Lucy; smart, sassy, extremely emotional. I could deal with any woman after living with her. And Ruthie; I'm sure you got a big file on her. She gets me into a lot of trouble but... boy does she love life. And I love her. And I love Happy. Thanks for that, you do good work. She's a girl dog you know. And it goes without saying that I love Mom too. She's the greatest mom ever. So even if the twins aren't boys, but I hope they are, just make her safe, because we couldn't do without her. Speaking of which say hello to Grandma Jenny. Tell her we'll be singing that song later. The one that she taught Matt to sing to Mom when they brought Mary from the hospital. Well that's it, that's everything. A little recap; I love women but… I want brothers. And that's the God's honest truth. Sorry. Amen. Or is it Awomen.


 * Matt: (to Ruthie) You know, I remember the day you were born. I was Simon's age, and I was a little nervous.
 * Ruthie: Even more nervous than you are now?
 * Matt: Oh, much more. You know, a new baby can be scary, but it's also a lot of fun. It's going to be so great for you when you get to hold those babies for the first time. I couldn't wait to hold you. In fact, there was a big fight over who got to hold you first.
 * Ruthie: I'm not surprised... I must have been pretty cute!


 * Ruthie: I'm never having babies. When I grow up, I'm going to be an astronaut and live in space. Earth is starting to bore me.
 * Mary: Well, you'd make a very good astronaut. That is a great dream.
 * Ruthie: Thanks!
 * Mary: And don't let anyone ever talk you out of your dream.
 * Ruthie: Like Simon?
 * Mary: Like anybody.
 * Ruthie: What if I change my mind? Can I be an astronaut and a mommy?
 * Mary: Yeah, there are women astronauts who are mommies, so you can do both, or neither, or one or the other. Women can do anything that men can do.
 * Ruthie: But men can't have babies.
 * Mary: Right, but it's hard to have babies without them.


 * Mary: Having a baby is a lot of things. It's a gift. It's a blessing. It's a miracle. But it is not a curse!
 * Matt: Have you been in that birthing room recently?
 * Mary: Yes, and I cannot wait to give birth myself. I mean, it might be the most painful thing in life, but being willing to suffer often brings great rewards.


 * Annie: (to the rest of the family) I'd like you all to meet Sam and David, your new brothers.
 * Simon: Thank you!