On-call windows are how Cradled knows which clients should have the power to break through your phone settings and when. They're set per client — most often the 38-to-42-week labor-coverage window — and they gate the labor-mode button and critical alerts.
What an on-call window is
A date range during which a specific client is "live" with you. It has:
- Start date (date she enters the window)
- End date (date the window expires)
- Notes (optional — internal-only, e.g., "back-up doula coverage")
Each client has a single on-call window at a time. Different clients' windows can overlap — you can be on call for several people at once — but you won't stack multiple windows on one client.
Where to set it
Web → Clients → [client] → On-call. Add a window, set the dates, save.
What it unlocks
While a client is within an active on-call window:
- The 🚨 labor button appears in her messaging thread on her mobile app
- Once she or her partner triggers labor mode, her messages route to you as Critical Alerts (iOS) / high-priority (Android) — bypassing your Do Not Disturb / Focus / silent switch
- Quiet hours are bypassed for her thread once labor mode is active
When the window expires, all of that reverts — she's back to normal-priority messaging like any other client.
What it doesn't do
- It doesn't change billing, schedule, or contract status. It's purely a notification-routing rule.
- It doesn't block her from messaging you outside the window — she can still text you, the message will just be normal priority.
Multiple CPs caring for one client
Each CP sets her own on-call window for her own clients. Mom may have a doula on call for labor and an LC on call for the early weeks. They're independent — mom's labor-mode trigger only escalates to whichever CPs currently have her in an active window.
Backup coverage is separate
On-call windows are per-client notification routing. Cradled also has a coverage layer on top: every doula can name a backup, and urgent contacts escalate to that backup — and ultimately the collective owner — if you don't respond in time. That's a distinct feature from these windows; you'll find it in your on-call coverage settings.