When to Call Your Midwife – Labour!

Pomegranate  604-255-5556

Check the clinic answering machine for the name and pager number of the midwife currently on-call. Sometimes we have someone else cover our pager if we are unavailable for a few hours, or we use a different number than usual, so always check the answering machine. If you have call-display, you may have access to our home or cell phone numbers. We ask that you still use our pagers, as this is the most efficient way to contact us, as well as the least disturbing to our families.

Labor

Please page us day or night if you think you are in labor and have:

• Regular, strong contractions:

FIRST BABY: 3-2-1 Rule = consistent contractions every 3 minutes for over 2 hours that are over 1 minute long

SECOND or more BABY: 5-1-1 Rule = contractions every 5 minutes for 1 hour that are 1 minute long

• Not reached 37 weeks gestation
• Broken your water and you are GBS positive
• Broken your water and the water has a strong odor OR is any color other than clear OR baby isn’t moving normally
• Constant abdominal pain that does not go away
• Large amount of bleeding, more than mucousy “show”
• Persistent and severe mid-back pain
• A fever > 38^oC (if you feel hot or shivery, take your temperature)
• An outbreak of blisters anywhere around your genitals
• Blurry vision, double vision or spots before your eyes
• Concerns about fetal movement (less than 10 movements in 2 hours)

Heads-up calls

DAY (between 9 am and 9 pm): If you suspect you may be in labor and/or your water has broken, page the midwife on call. A heads-up call can help us to arrange our day so that we will be available when you need us later.

NIGHT (between 9 pm and 9 am): If you do not need a midwife immediately, please wait until morning.  We appreciate our chances to sleep through the night, and having a perky midwife when labor gets hard may be just what you need. But if you know you are in active labor and need a midwife now, please page us!

When to call 911

• If your water has broken and you feel something hanging in your vagina (then get in a knees & chest position on the floor)
• If the birth is suddenly imminent and the midwife is not going to make it in the next few minutes

AFTER you call 911, call your midwife IMMEDIATELY.