Julie and interested lactnetters,
  From our family in Israel and from talking with people here,
it is my understanding that Jewish law is very lenient when it
comes to birthing women. They can go to whatever hospital or
facility they will be most comfortable, even if it's Sabbath and
the hospital isn't the closest one.
When I started doing doula work a number of years ago I had to
figure out how I was going to deal with the Shabbat problem.
I tell all of my clients that I do not normally answer the phone
on Sabbath, but we have an answering machine. They should leave a
message and I will hear it. If I hear them on the phone, I pick up.
I have yet to be surprised by a call to come to the hospital. The
couples and I are in touch on a regular basis as the time gets closer.
Usually, the moms call with questions about various symptoms she is
getting, so I have a pretty clear sense of where things stand. Also,
if it sounds like early labor, or even pre-labor to me late in the week,
I always check in on Friday afternoon to see how everything is going.
I have been called to births on Sabbath and holidays. Once I get the
call,
I go and don't worry about it. As the doula, you are part of this mom
getting what she needs to have the baby. Whether you drive home again
after the birth is obviously a personal decision.
A nice story. I was working once with a woman due around Passover. The
night
of the seder (don't remember which one) we spent the evening interrupting
the seder every few minutes to go outside. We had a lunar eclipse in one
part of the sky and we turned around 180 degrees to see a meteor shower.
It was quite amazing. As we were wrapping up the seder, I got the call
from the couple, spent the rest of the night in the hospital watching yet
a third natural wonder, as their baby came into the world. Went home the
next morning and crashed while everyone else went to synagogue. An
unforgettable
seder night.

Hope this is helpful. I am curious what other responses you will get
about
this.
  Naomi Bar-Yam

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