They cost $ 25 million to build, but just one year after its opening and less than six months in operation, the family birth unit at the Notre-Dame Hospital in Montreal is closed forever.
The Ciussss du Center-Sud-de-L’île-de-Montréal, which supervises the hospital, announced the closure a week ago, blaming the lack of specialized obstetrics personnel.
Loss is a “lost opportunity” and a blow to patients who would prefer to give birth outside a traditional hospital environment, said Barbara Beccafico, Doula de Birth and member of the Board of the Association of Quebec (AQD) association.
“The community was very sad,” said Scholafic. “We feel it was a beautiful project that was dead.”
The family birth unit emphasized the physiological, or natural, medication and collaborated births with midwives, who shared their experience and knowledge with the nurses of the unit.
The unit was supposed to accommodate 1,500 births per year or 125 per month. In the end, only 46 children were born there.
In an email, Amaili Jetté, the president of the Regrouping les sages-femmes du québec (RSFQ), a group that represents the groups of midwives, said it is important that this type of collaborations continue in the future, while respecting the areas of competition and experience of the other.
“Physiological births have demand, and it is vital that we continue to offer attention and facilities that meet the needs of the population,” said Jetté, adding that Montreal’s island currently has five childbirth centers and a le guide service.
Bridge between home and hospital
Shannon Godin had planned to give his son, Tomas, at the Notre-Dame Hospital, which is close to his home.
The Notre-Dame unit was designed as a bridge between the experience of births at home and that of hospital births.
Unlike a traditional hospital environment, the family delivery unit had large and private rooms equipped with bathtubs. Childbirth balls, feces and other supports, such as slings and ceiling bars, were also available to help patients during childbirth.
The patient would remain in the same room to recover instead of changing the units, which Godin also liked.
But when the family birth unit was temporarily closed last summer, Godin began to look for another option.
A nurse, said it is not surprised that the unit would fight to keep the staff due to the shortage of nursing throughout the medical care system. Even so, he admits that he was “frustrating and disappointing” having to start again and find a new place to give birth.
“It is a pity to move forward and built it when they didn’t have the resources to execute it,” Godin said.
Needs have evolved
The Family Birth Unit of Notre-Dame Hospital has faced many challenges.
Construction delays, recruitment difficulties and COVID-19 pandemic postponed the project several times.
Finally it opened in February 2024.
But for the summer, the unit had to temporarily suspend operations due to personnel difficulties, the lower availability of obstetricians and the arrival of the summer holiday period, said Marianne Paquette, spokesman for Ciusss du Center-de-L’Aré-de-Montréal.
The past fall, the unit postponed its reopening indefinitely and was called an external consultant of the Ministry of Health to try to find a solution.
Despite several recruitment units, “the work specialized in this field is scarce and we have not been able to occupy a sufficient number of positions to guarantee a safe reopening,” said Paquette.
Paquette said that the needs of the community have also evolved since the project began seven years ago.
The Regional Health Authority said that other delivery centers in the Great Montreal have the ability to handle demand, since the latest projections show that the birth rate will continue to decrease.
When the Minister of Health was asked, Christian Dubé, about the short -term unit, used it as an example to underline the importance of Santé Québec, the new corona corporation responsible for the province’s medical care system.
“There were many projects that were looked [at] On an independent basis for an establishment, “Dubé said.” We can’t just spend money locally without thinking around the world. “
But scholarship said the decision is myopic.
Although they understand that the province always seeks maximum performance for their money, they say that more and more people are interested in giving birth outside a traditional hospital environment.
“When closing this initiative, they are sending a clear message: budget priorities matter more than the parents’ elections,” said Schofhicphic.
They believe that the real problem is the lack of commitment, support and training for this childbirth option, which in the end could help save money.
Scholarships believes that a patient -centered approach that focuses on natural births can help patients feel empowered and can even help reduce postpartum depression possibilities.
The Ciussss du Center-Sud-de-L’sa-de-Montréal has met with all employees and doctors about the closure.
Many of the unit nurses and computers were already redistributed to other delivery centers after the Notre-Dame unit closed last summer.
