WORKING AS A COORDINATOR MIDWIFE IN A TERTIARY ...

where the consultant was, and the consultant was being shitty with me because I
questioned how long it had taken her to get to theatre.
Meanwhile staff were sitting on a bradycardia of 60 on the ward for 6 minutes. It
eventually all worked out but it’s really difficult if there are no staff and we need
staff quickly with some staff just not recognising the urgency.
Clock time exists for Sally but is of no help to her in this situation. This story is an
example of what Cerbone (2006) describes as “temporality” (p.56). Sally knows how
rapidly a baby can be compromised in childbirth but is thrown into a situation of urgency
where she is simultaneously managing both the known and the unknown as she fights to
be heard. Sally is managing ‘what is’ at any point in time with the situation constantly
changing and moving forward as she tries to keep up and respond to new challenges
being thrown at her.
Sally recognises timing is critical for these four mothers and babies to ensure the babies
are born in the best possible condition. Harman (2007) writes “our current life is there
before us as the hand we are forced to play. The most we can do is to try to work with the
situation as we find it – every moment however dull or horrible has its possibilities”, and
this is Sally’s reality (p.28).
Staff members in her unit each have their own agenda. The tasks each of them needed to
do with their jobs took time. Sally is the catalyst for effecting urgent action and she finds
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