Special delivery! Obstetrical services are back in Gander, at last
Pregnant women were diverted to Grand Falls-Windsor for almost two years
After nearly two years of trips to Grand Falls-Windsor for checkups, appointments and deliveries, pregnant women in Gander can once again give birth in their hometown.
Central Health reinstated obstetrical services at Gander's James Paton Memorial hospital on Jan. 6, about 23 months after the health board announced a temporary diversion to the hospital in Grand Falls-Windsor.
That diversion was the latest in a series of disruptions to maternity services at the Gander hospital. Pregnant women were told to go to Grand Falls-Windsor for stretches in 2013, in 2016, in 2017, and in 2018.
"Finally, we have reached the end of a long and very frustrating period for families throughout the central-northeast part of this province," said Gander Mayor Percy Farwell in a statement.
"It is crucial that there be no further interruptions in service. While we appreciate that Central Health has delayed reinstatement of this service to ensure a sustainable model is in place … extended interruption of an essential service like obstetrics is unacceptable."
Central Health says it has now established a "stable physician workforce," recruiting three obstetricians, and family doctors who can assist obstetric services in the hospital.
"The biggest challenge really was around the physician piece," said Joanne Pelley, the organization's vice-president of integrated health. "We needed to ensure that we had physicians that are committed to working here, and not just locum providers who would come for a period of time and then leave.
"We want to make sure that there are physicians on the ground who can provide the service at any time of day."
Pelley says now that service has resumed, she anticipates seeing no interruptions for an extended period of time.
'Nerve-racking'
Just five months ago, Stephanie Holloway spent a week in Grand Falls-Windsor to give birth to her son, Luke.
She arrived in the community on a Thursday night, expecting to be induced the following day, but was turned away on Friday — she says hospital staff told her they were at capacity. She also stayed in hospital following Luke's birth on the Saturday, she says, because of complications in childbirth.
The extended stay meant a steeper cost for her family.
"It's probably not more difficult for me, but certainly for family members who want to be there," she said. "Especially my husband, he took extra days off work. He took that Friday off so that I could be induced and we go there and they send us away. So that was an extra day that he couldn't spend with our child then after the baby was born."
Her parents rented a place in a campground in the community, she said, to be nearby.
"And a lot of people can't do that," she said. "That's cheaper then spending the money on a hotel, which a lot of people have to do."
Holloway says she's glad women in Gander will be able to get services close to home but she's still disappointed it wasn't available for her and for her son.
"I really can't find any other words than to say that I don't think it's good enough," she said. "For our health-care system to not offer that service."
She said there's an added stress for new mothers when health-care services are at least an hour away.
"As a new mother it was a little bit nerve-racking to not know. You know, you don't really know what it feels like when you go into labour and should you go to the hospital, or shouldn't you go to the hospital.… It was a bit stressful thinking that, you know, you could drive an hour each way for nothing."
Relief for expecting moms
The reinstatement of maternity services will make a big difference for Joliane Laforce, who is expecting to give birth to her second child in just a few weeks.
"At 35 weeks last time, I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to deliver in Gander. So that unknown is a really huge deal on any expecting mom," she said.
Her son, Benjamin, was born in Gander, as the obstetric services were opened in December 2017 when Laforce went into labour. By the end of that month, another diversion had been put in place.
"I guess the stressful part was not knowing where we'd be delivering," she said. "A lot of people, they have a birth plan and they want to do a hospital tour before they deliver and stuff … so not knowing where you are delivering is a huge issue, right?"
This time, Laforce is planning to use a midwife, although she will be checking into the James Paton hospital in Gander for the delivery as well.
She says it's a big feeling of relief knowing that she will be close to home — that her two-year-old son can sleep in his own bed, that her partner can pop home for food and rest while she is in hospital, and that she can more easily get checked at the hospital whenever she needs.
"I think every expecting mother that is due in the next couple of months has been tracking this for a long time."
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