DIANA Grimes admits being a workaholic, so as a registered midwife attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Maternity Unit, she doesn’t mind having to often work beyond the call of duty.

This year, Diana will be spending Christmas on the job, delivering babies as has been her wont for the past 19 years.

At 61, she said she still likes her job even though it does have its challenges. But all in all, it is very rewarding, as when mothers and babies get to go home, it gives her a certain sense of accomplishment.

This midwife, who is always up for a friendly chat, told the Guyana Chronicle that a lot of babies are born at this time of year, and that Christmas at the GPHC Maternity Unit is like being home away from home, as the nurses would decorate the wards,and serve patients meals specially prepared for them on Christmas Day.

That day, too, President David Granger would visit and chat with expectant mothers and those who would have given birth to Christmas babies.

She recalled that last year when the President visited, he was accompanied by the First Lady, and together they presented each mother with a gold coin for their babies.

Grimes said that at this time of year, members the public and private sectors as well as private citizens, especially those who live overseas, would visit the Maternity Unit and distribute gifts to the new-borns and their mothers on Christmas Day. The GPHC, she said, would also present the young mothers with Christmas tokens.

Said Nurse Grimes: “The atmosphere at the Maternity Unit does be nice for both the staff and patients because we treat them like family and make them as comfortable as possible.”

The mother of three pointed out that Christmas is usually the ‘peak season’ for the delivery of babies, in that more than 55 patients tend to visit the Maternity Unit per day.

By the end of the season, she said, the Unit would have seen more than 100 pregnant women daily, and done about 20 deliveries for this period alone.

Grimes said that during this festive period, nurses work through and sometimes work double shifts if needed, because the GPHC is the referral hospital for high-risk pregnant women, including teenagers, diabetics and those troubling with anaemia.

She disclosed that oftentimes they double-up to accommodate all expectant mothers, since some women would journey from afar to give birth.

“The aim of any midwife,” she said, “is to safely deliver babies and provide the relevant after-care for both mother and child, which is a team effort which comprises of midwives, nurses and doctors.”

She is also an immunisation nurse, which means that as soon as a new baby is born, she gets to administer the very first vaccine.

Her simple motto, she said, is “Aiming to please”, which allows her to get the job done with relative ease.