Importance of Waldo's birth

Waldo's birth is a symbol of the generational trauma that Waldo is inheriting from his father. Shenkman reflects occasionally on his unhappy childhood, during which his father would yell at and berate him for minor mistakes. He passes a lot of this down to his son even though he has good intentions and does not want to. Waldo is delivered by Ben, who ends up being an important presence in his life down the line, and the umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck; Ben saves him by untangling him, which symbolizes his importance to Waldo as someone who understands him in ways that Shenkman does not.