Walking down the street, obstetrician Amanda Dennis will often bump into some familiar faces.
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Mostly mothers of the hundreds, if not thousands of babies she has helped welcome into the world.
A senior staff specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology at Launceston General Hospital, Dr Dennis is also a mother herself, with three daughters aged between nine and 16.
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While every day is different, Dr Dennis is kept busy juggling her time between her work in the public and private sector.
She performs clinics for gynaecology and colposcopy, she operates, she is often on call for the public labour wards, she overseas pregnant women with diabetes as part a multidisciplinary endocrinology team, and she teaches, through her role as Associate Professor of obstetrics and gynaecology for the University of Tasmania.
Describing her work as "varied, with a little bit of structure thrown in", Dr Dennis said she often becomes a big part of her patients story.
"I just love interacting with such a wide range of patients," she said.
"I work with children and actually last year my oldest patient was 100. I do like the variety and I enjoy looking after women through pregnancy and supervising and being part of a successful pregnancy journey.
"It's nice being part of a family's history, because you become part of their story and it's really lovely. And of course working in a small town, you really are a part of the community and you are in contact with a lot of families."
Dr Dennis has worked at the LGH since 2005, starting as a staff specialist and then becoming the director of Women's and Children's Services - a position she held for six years.
While she has lost track of how many babies she has helped deliver over the years - "there would certainly be thousands".
As for striking a balance between helping new mums and being a mother herself, she said it wouldn't be possible without her team of supporters.
"The reason I have been able to have the professional life I do and have a family is because of the support of my husband," she said.
"He has basically taken responsibility for running the home front. I couldn't do it without him. I suppose we have in some ways what is a very traditional family, whereby one person goes off to work and one stays at home - it's just the other way around.
"I also have excellent professional partners, so we share the after hours responsibilities. That's allowed all of us to have a family life as well and at the same time ensuring our patients are well cared for and supported. That professional balance is really important as well."
As for how she will be spending Mother's Day, Dr Dennis said she would be enjoying some time off.
"We have had a really busy couple of weeks while we have cared for the women from the North-West as well. So I actually have a full weekend off for the first time in four weeks," she said. "I'm really looking forward to just spending time with my girls."
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Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
