No birth services next week at Waterville facility
Horizon announces labour, delivery to be closed June 24-28 at Upper River Valley Hospital
No babies will be born in hospital in New Brunswick’s Upper River Valley region next week.
The Horizon Health Network issued a news release Friday afternoon to advise the public that it’s closing labour and birth services at Upper River Valley Hospital (UVRH) in Waterville beginning Monday morning at 6 a.m. until Friday at 8 a.m.
It attributed the five-day closure to a doctor shortage.
“The reason for this change is due to the lack of physician coverage to provide emergency caesarian sections (C-sections),” the release said.
“All pregnant individuals who would normally deliver their babies at URVH will need to travel to Horizon’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton.”
That’s true even for expectant mothers who feel they won’t be in need of a C-section, it said.
“... They must still travel to the [Chalmers hospital] for labour and birth, as pregnancy-related issues and emergency situations can quickly arise during childbirth,” the health authority reported.
It noted that nursing staff have contacted expectant mothers who are at at the 35-week point in their pregnancies or more.
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