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Births Soar at New Women's Hospital

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 03:03 CDT

By HAYMAN, Kamala

Many more babies are being born at the new Christchurch Women's Hospital than at its predecessor, writes KAMALA HAYMAN.

Eyes tightly shut, mouth searching, Toby van Onselen -- at just two hours old -- is charmingly unaware of his place in history.

His birth at 11.30am on March 30 was a year, almost to the minute, after the arrival of the first baby in the new Christchurch Women's Hospital.

Toby (3.5kg) was roughly the 5000th baby born at the new facility -- a staggering 500 more births than seen in the previous year at the old Colombo Street hospital.

Health managers and midwives are at a loss to explain where all the extra babies have come from -- with suggestions ranging from an unexpected baby boom in the city to the attractiveness of the new facility pulling in women from as far afield as Invercargill.

Certainly, Toby's parents Michelle and Don van Onselen, who live in St Albans, never considered having their first child anywhere else.

"We wanted to come straight here in case there were problems," Michelle said.

While she confessed to still feeling "a bit wobbly" after her labour, beaming father Don said he was just "blown away".

The new family were expecting to stay at the new hospital for post-natal care or transfer to St George's Hospital.

The private Merivale facility has seen the number of normal deliveries plummet from about 300 a year to 200 since the new hospital opened. Where once St George's outshone the dilapidated women's hospital, the new building has proved popular with its curving art-filled corridors, park views, and TV-equipped rooms.

However, its popularity has also meant few of those who give birth in its modern suites can stay for post-natal care -- most must transfer to another facility or go home. Post-natal stays have, consequently, gone up at St George's and the district's primary birthing units at Lincoln, Rangiora, and Burwood. These primary units have also seen a fall in births, totalling about 30 babies. Not enough to account for the huge leap in deliveries at the new hospital.

General manager Pauline Burt believed the new facility was attracting women from throughout the South Island, including the West Coast, Queenstown and Invercargill, to give birth -- boosting the district's numbers.

She did know how many out-of-towners were having their babies in Christchurch, believing many would give a local address.

"Our statistics are only as good as the information being given to us," said Burt.

She said it was a phenomenon reported by new hospitals which had opened in Australia, though was not sure why women would travel so far to deliver their babies.

"They may have previously lived here, they may have family here, they may have a relationship with an obstetrician."

Burt said staff had coped well with the extra demand and it had not led to queues for the birthing suites, largely due to the improved design of the new hospital.

"In the old hospital women needing acute maternity care, for example a urinary tract infection, would have to be seen in the labour rooms. Now they only go into the birthing suite if they're in labour.'

She said it had been a huge and challenging year for staff getting to grips with a new facility and, at times, a new way of working with the need to fall into line with practices at the neighbouring Christchurch Hospital.

"But it has been very positive to be on the same site as Christchurch Hospital with the ability for consultants, midwives and allied health staff to have more collegial contact."

One of the hospital's biggest challenges was the outbreak of superbug MRSA in the neonatal unit which infected four premature babies -- though did not lead to serious infection or blood poisoning. "That was nothing to do with the new facility," Burt said. "That can happen at any time, though we hope it doesn't and take all the usual precautions."

Midwife Anne O'Connor, who has been delivering babies since 1983, said that women and midwives liked the new facility.

"It's lovely. It's nice and fresh and women seem to like it.

"The birthing rooms are a nice size and it has two wonderful birthing pools. The decor is lovely."

O'Connor said interest in giving birth in Canterbury's primary birthing units at Lincoln, Rangiora, and Burwood had fallen initially.

"Women were keen to go and have a look."

However, she encouraged women who were likely to have normal births to consider the smaller, more relaxed primary units.

She wondered if the increase in births at the new hospital was due to a baby boom in the district.

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TIMELINE

* Jan 20, 2006: Neonatal unit closed temporarily due to a shortage of nursing staff, forcing two pregnant Christchurch women to be flown out of the region in case they gave birth prematurely to babies who would need intensive care.

* December 2005: Shana Ferris, 21, gave birth to her son Te Ahua alone in her sister's car in the hospital carpark after arriving at the hospital to find no-one to let her in. The security guard, whose job it was to open the locked hospital doors, was on the phone.

* December 2005: Four babies in the neonatal unit were infected with the potentially lethal superbug MRSA, though none developed serious infection.

* August 2005: A suspicious package sparked the evacuation of 30 mothers and 18 newborn babies from the hospital. A police explosives detector dog handler was sent to investigate, and the package proved harmless. It was understood the parcel could have contained sand and broken shells.

* May 2005: Prime Minister Helen Clark officially opened the new hospital, five weeks and 423 births, after it opened.

* April 2005: All Christchurch neonatal staff were tested for an antibiotic-resistant bacteria linked to three deaths in Wellington Hospital's neonatal unit because a baby had been transferred from the Wellington unit to Christchurch Women's Hospital earlier in the year though was not unwell and was later discharged.

* April 2005: The new hospital welcomed its first set of twins. Proud mum Nicola Carazo said she "held on" to give birth at the new hospital where identical babies 2.6kg Stella and 2.5kg Lola were born 18 minutes apart.

* March 30, 2005: The new $80m Christchurch Women's Hospital opens at 10am, built on time and, to much acclaim, on budget. By 11.30 its first baby arrives. Holly Williams, 3.6kg, was born by emergency caesarean section due to a breech position.

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Source: Press, The; Christchurch, New Zealand

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