Tricky timings

Trying to work out the best time to call a second midwife to attend at a labour can be quite tricky sometimes. When a woman has a history of previous quick labours, it seems like a good idea for both midwives to head over together early to minimise the chance of the dad having to step into the role of midwife. Labours are so unpredictable though – sometimes the baby’s arrival is at a much more leisurely pace that anticipated and then other times when a long labour is anticipated, the baby sometimes surprises everyone by arriving quite quickly after all.