The shifts are twelve hours a day, but they don’t weigh on her. Veronica Cattani is the youngest of the midwives in the role at the Piacenza Local Health Authority: she is 26 years old, she started working when she was not yet 23. To date she has attended more than 200 births: “I still have a lot to learn – she declares with conviction – and I know it well”. We are talking about it because on Sunday the 5th Midwife Day was celebrated all over the world.
“I studied in Pavia and after graduating I applied for competitions and notices, but then the pandemic broke out – he explains – I did the first competitions in May 2020. I started at the Macedonio Melloni hospital in Milan and from there I was called to Biella, then to Lodi and finally to Piacenza”.
“I like everything about my job”
To those who ask her what she appreciates most about her job, Cattani replies: “I like everything: it’s a big responsibility and I realized it early on, but I like being at the woman’s side and supporting her. I like being able to make a difference in this sense. I happened to assist a very dear friend who gave birth last December 22nd and for me it was a unique experience: she went through many hours of labor, but she always trusted me. That was one of the births in which I was most excited, I cried when I saw her son Daniele being born.”
Midwives’ Day
There are two Ausl appointments to celebrate midwives’ day: on Thursday 9 May from 2.30pm to 5.30pm there will be an in-person visit to the delivery rooms and a chat with the hospital midwives. Participants will be able to use the entrance from the waiting room of the outpatient clinics of the delivery room of the Piacenza hospital. On Friday 10th from 3pm to 5pm at the Galleria del Sole clinic there will be a meeting with midwives on various topics such as the use of the baby carrier, complementary nutrition and post-birth care.
