Labor Day Everyday: The Benefit of “On Call” Care
Most jobs are finite; they have a start and an ending time. On call jobs are also finite in that they usually have ‘days off’ and a predictable time when care and support are shifted from one person to another. This is the way most care providers work their call schedules in the labor and delivery world. A group practice has several on their team that cycle through rotation; when one is due to leave, they pass the baton to others coming on shift.
What is beneficial about this model is that the team is usually fresher due to the predictability of their time at work, but it can leave many feeling like they’re being left at the 11th hour if they’ve been laboring well with a provider or a nurse’s sporadic care, then having to adjust to another’s presence in their birth. We’ve even seen labor take a few turns or pauses as a family adjusts to the new style or alternate plans set in motion when the new team takes over.
Our doulas work on call, in either a team model of care or a primary doula with primary back up arrangement with our clients. This provides continuity of care throughout your pregnancy because you have the entire team at your disposal, 24/7 for questions, texts, late night phone calls and prenatal care. When you go into labor, it doesn’t matter what time it is, it doesn’t matter where in your pregnancy you are, your doula will be there.
Your doula will also be the continuous presence alongside your partner through these shifts in call of your nurses and care providers. The constant attendance of a birth doula is often reassuring to families as they navigate the path of their labor experience.
Living an on call lifestyle this way has quite a bit of unpredictability. We’re happy to have the support of an agency behind our doulas to provide THEM 24/7 support while they navigate life knowing they have to pack up and go at any moment. We’re also committed to small numbers of families per team, maintaining the ability to be fresh, supportive and totally available for the clients in our care.
Babies come when they want to, 3 a.m., rush hour, middle of dinner, and sometimes before or well after our intended ‘guess date’ on the calendar. You can head into your third trimester assured that no matter the hour, we’ll be there, and we’ll be the seamless members of your team!
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