A day in the life…

2.44pm: Calmly making cups on my pottery wheel - all smug that I have ten the same 😊 - when I get a phonecall from a woman who is due to have her baby any day, to tell me she is covid positive.

My first client to be positive and at the most tricky time of pregnancy to sort a fast plan for her care.

2.50pm: Message a friend to see if she will ride my horse for me as I can tell this day is going pear shaped and I’m not going to get there. She can’t. She’s isolating as her daughter has COVID. But can I get her click and collect?

2.55pm: email the hospital with all my clients notes to book her in there. Can’t phone to refer as it’s handover time. NEVER ring at handover. I’ve learnt that the hard way in the past 😉

3.00pm: race to pick daughter up from school.

3.20pm: Phone the hospital on the way home, apparently the guideline we have is old - they won’t be seeing my client for immediate induction of labour. That was last week. Now it’s just await labour and go ahead normally at the hospital in full PPE. Doctors will phone my client tomorrow and triage her.

3.30pm: Phone client back to update with the good news that she doesn’t need an induction.

4.30pm: phoned by hospital to say they won’t be ringing client tomorrow and can I please inform her of that? Also that I should check with the birthcentre and see if they are happy for her to birth there seeing as she has no other risk factors in pregnancy and only has mild covid symptoms. But, if she becomes sicker or baby’s movements decrease they want to see her.

4.40pm: phone client back and update her.

4.50 - 6.00pm: dreaded paperwork.

6.15pm. Clean the loo. The rest of the bathroom can wait.

7.30pm spag bol for tea

10.00pm. Daughter says feels sick. Sore throat, but maybe she’s imagining it? Sent to bed with Panadol.

10.02pm. Text from my sister. Has covid. My daughter spent the day with her three days ago. Probably not imagining it then. Here we go folks. Attempt to sleep without getting distracted with contingency plans. Fail at this until midnight.

7am. Daughter wakes us up. Shivering wreck. but a negative rat test. Sent back to bed with a hot water bottle. Make daughter smoothie and race to studio to make ten handles - they have to dry a bit and be attached before yesterdays cups dry out too much. There’s a small window!

8.39am check emails. Someone has reduced movements at 24 weeks. Phone her back - no answer. Leave a message.

9.15am: after showering (thought I’d better put that in in case you were judging me 🤣) head out to do my postnatal visit. 45 minute drive each way with ten kms on gravel, but the view is worth it! Phone the birthcentre on the way - but the manager is in a meeting.

10.00am: arrive at clients do a blood test on her baby and observe a breastfeed. Going great! I leave her with some weighing scales in case I soon test positive and need to do my next visit over zoom. So many local midwives have Covid at the moment I can’t think of anyone that could drive out there for me.

11.15am: back in coverage so phone the birthcentre and sort my client birthing there and ask to collect some RAT tests so I can continue to work if daughter is positive.

11.25pm Hospital bookings phone to say my client with Covid has an induction date - when she will be 41.5 weeks - so most likely will have had her baby. I’m assuming they just dont want her to go post dates and add that risk on top of Covid.

11.30am: try the 25 weeker again. No answer.

11.32am: Phone my client with Covid to check on her. After a long chat about whether she is supported for food etc, what her symptoms are today, if the gp is involved etc I was then getting ready to hang up and she told me her movements had been reduced all morning. Right… I’ll ring you back when I have a plan.

11.50am: Phone hospital to tell them she is coming up. But no. Their Covid room is in use, can I do the reduced movement monitoring in the community instead?

I should have said can I have an updated guideline too? But man, everyone is suddenly on the back foot and things are changing every shift!

11.55am: Phone the birthcentre back to ask if I can bring the woman I’ve just negotiated to birth there - because she has no other complications except Covid - now needs a monitoring, so has complications. Can I please come and use their machine? Yes. Whew.

12.15pm: get hold of client and say will meet her at the birthcentre for the monitoring. She tells me it’s ok baby is moving now. I let her know that I can’t ignore it and she’s going to have to make the hour drive to me and the monitoring machine as it’s not portable. I win that battle. We arrange to meet at 2pm.

12.30pm: 25 weeker phones back. I say I will come by her place of work on my way to town. Then we both should be able to sleep easy tonight.

12.45pm: Swing by for listen in - in the car park - as I have to get clearance to go inside her workplace. Baby is fine, hiding it’s kicks behind mums anterior placenta.

1.15pm: Coffee with my dad and step mum in the park. Not the planned coffee shop, so no lunch dammit. Distance kept, no hugging allowed. My dad is about to have knee surgery and doesn’t want Covid to put a halt to that.

1.25pm: Interrupted by school ringing to ask where daughter is. Shit. Knew I’d forgotten something.

1.50pm: arrive at birthcentre collect my RAT kits and PPE pack so I’m ready for my postnatal visits with my Covid positive mama after her baby comes.

1.53pm: Don my PPE and wait patiently.

2.15pm: still waiting. It’s very bloody hot. I’m steaming up my plastic glasses while I write this. Decide to take the dreadful selfie above!

2.20pm: Client arrives, smuggle her through the side door and she tells me she feels like a leper. Well there’s not much to say to that beyond reassurance that she isn’t. But still, the getup certainly gives that impression. I really felt for her.

2.50pm: Wave my client off after a reassuring monitoring. Then wipe down all the surfaces we have touched, strip the linen and tie the bag it goes in. Doff my gear - thank f*+# - and tie that rubbish bag up too. Collect my huge bag of PPE and wave goodbye to the staff to head home. Looking like Santa with my hot red face carrying a sack over my shoulder.

2.52pm: return my mums call whilst driving that probably best we don’t catch up tonight with daughter being sick.

3.25pm: get home and race into my studio to attach handles to my cups.

3.40pm: With clay covered hands manage to answer phone to a client worried about vaginal discharge in her baby girl - did you guys know baby’s can get pseudo periods? She didn’t. But was reassured.

6.0pm: finish the handles! Yay. Give Daughter some love and ibuprofen.

7.00pm: Consult the midwifery group wisdom about latest protocols and their inconsistencies. Have a vent.

7.30pm: eat crisps for dinner while watching ‘married at first sight’. Not something to be proud of. Ate too many, but then again it was also lunch.

8.30pm: Add up my phone calls Today - 24. Usually I average one (yes only one!) work call a day. Wowzer. No wonder my brain is spinning.

Decide to finish my blog so my brain is set free before bed. Otherwise it will go round in my head and keep me up!

9.45pm: Finished! Goodnight and good luck! Especially to my midwifery sisters who all have days just like this.

PS. Please choose to become a member and follow me, it just means you receive an email when a new blog is posted and won’t miss it! they often get lost on social media.