PREGNANT women were being turned away from Bowral
Hospital because the maternity ward doesn’t treat high-risk pregnancies, a mother of six has claimed.
The News understands there is only one permanent obstetrician currently on staff after two had left during the past six months.
Several women claim they were told they couldn’t deliver at Bowral because they were considered high-risk and not because of inadequate resources.
One mother said she was turned away in December
because she had had a previous caesarean birth and was told the hospital no longer delivers babies for women who have had caesareans.
Mother of six Kellie Bennett said she was forced to have her first home birth in February after her obstetrician Dr Ajay Vatsayan left the hospital late last year.
Mrs Bennett said that when she was 26 weeks pregnant hospital staff told her Dr Vatsayan had left the hospital and asked her not to come in for a scheduled appointment.
A GP told Mrs Bennett a few days later she couldn’t deliver her baby at Bowral because the hospital had a no-vaginal birth after caesarean policy.
She was told she would have to attend Campbelltown Hospital, but should be prepared to travel to Liverpool Hospital as Campbelltown had issues with their own numbers and may not be able to accommodate her.
Mrs Bennett’s fifth child was delivered via caesarean in July 2007 with no complications.
Worried about where she would deliver her most recent
child, Mrs Bennett arranged to meet Bowral’s temporary obstetrician at the time, Dr Brimms-Mead, to discuss a plan of action.
Mrs Bennett said when she told Dr Brimms-Mead she was
due in February she was unsatisfied with his response.
That was the last time Mrs Bennett attended Bowral
Hospital.
Bowral Hospital general manager Denis Thomas denied there was a policy of rejecting women with previous caesareans.
“A woman’s level of risk is assessed by a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist at Bowral Hospital on a case-by-case basis,” Mr Thomas said.
“Clinical decisions are made in the best interests of the mother and baby and in full consultation with the patient.
“Clinicians may decide a patient should be referred to a
hospital with additional support services, such as a neonatal intensive care unit, that can provide the baby or the mother with specialised treatment.”
He said Bowral was not equipped to deal with high-risk
pregnancies and only catered for women with low risk and selected moderate risk pregnancies.
After obtaining her medical records before her home birth
Mrs Bennett said she discovered abnormalities in her previous pregnancies.
She said her fourth child was delivered by caesarean because she was told it was in a difficult breech position but her records show the baby was in normal breech position for a natural birth.
Mrs Bennett said she had been induced for four of her five pregnancies.
She added she was told she was at high-risk because of
high blood pressure, but her records didn’t indicate that.
“I was upset at the time as I assumed they knew best,” she said. “Maybe women who are told they are at high-risk aren’t at high-risk at all.”
The Colo Vale resident wondered if women were being
unnecessary induced and given caesarean births because of the lack of resources at the maternity
ward.
Once given, caesarean birth women are more likely to be
turned away in future pregnancies.
Mrs Bennett had five of her six children delivered at Bowral Hospital, and while she said her and her husband weren’t expecting any more children, she was worried for other young mothers.
“They will have to go out of the area. A lot of choice has been taken away,” she said.
The birth of her sixth child Matilda on February 27 went perfectly and she recommended home births to other expectant mothers.
The maternity ward has suffered a dual loss in recent times with the loss of maternity unit nursing unit manager, Julie Marks, along with long-time obstetrician Dr David MacFarlane, who left the hospital earlier this year.
The hospital has denied any plans to downgrade the maternity ward.
Mrs Bennett said more information on home births needed to be available to mothers if the hospital was unable to look after them.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter