Two subjects in the latest postings inspired me to reply.
Siesta:  Hospitals in Israel all have a siesta after lunch for a couple of hours - culturally it is acceptable because people here get up very early and if they can often do have a break in the middle of the day particularly in the hot weather. Shops used to close between 1 and 4 but this has vanished as the shopping malls opened with larger staff to work shifts.
In most hospitals, even in colder climates, patients are woken up at dawn just to measure temperatures, a practice most cruel. However in maternity, mothers are awake early with their babies, and as visitors often swarm in during the late afternoon and evening, they are fairly exhausted and the siesta would be a welcome break wherever this may be.
In Israel the doors of the ward are actually closed and even the dads are asked to leave.  A security guard tries to keep visitors out for those couple of hours although it is quite hard to resist the "mother-in-law who just travelled six hours to see her new grandchild"  
I never make professional visits to my clients during that siesta and in most cases, the mothers do welcome that rest period.  Of course one has to limit cellphone use, televisions turned up full volume, cleaners crashing in with buckets and mops, etc.  

Hospital courses:  I had the good luck soon after I came to Israel to co-ordinate childbirth courses in a local hospital. This was the start of fathers participation at births and very few prenatal teachers were qualified to teach couples.  The staff were not always happy with me because I did it my way and was not prepared to compromise on what I had learned and researched.  But slowly I got the respect of the better doctors and midwives.
Unfortunately, after a few years,  the midwives decided that they should run the courses even though none of them at that time were actually qualified to teach childbirth courses and I lost the job.  However I am still welcome at that hospital and we have an ongoing dialogue - they complain to me when one of "my" couples has been "difficult" and I pass on to them feedback from my clients.

Wendy Blumfield
Tutor Prenatal Teacher/BFC NCT
Israel Childbirth Education Centre

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