Maternity services returned to High River Hospital this week but it wasn’t soon enough for one Okotoks mom.
Melissa Gordon was en route to Rockyview General Hospital on May 27, where maternity patients from High River Hospital had been redirected during COVID-19, when she felt the urge to push. She and her boyfriend were on Highway 2A just before the overpass at Highway 2.
“It was kind of scary because my body told me to push, so where the DeWinton turn-off is, that’s when I did my first push, and that was really terrifying to me,” said Gordon. “Then as soon as we got onto the overpass and we were just taking the turn I felt her crowning, so I just knew and then my body told me to push so I did two pushes and she was out.
“I had to get Cary to stop driving, he looked over and she was in my arms.”
Her boyfriend, Cary Drews, pulled over and jumped out of the truck to wave down help for Gordon and baby Svenja.
“He got out of the truck and I just saw him running around,” said Gordon with a laugh.
On their way out of Okotoks, Gordon and Drews had passed an ambulance, and that same unit was flagged down by bystanders who had pulled over to assist. While paramedics worked on the new mom and baby, another stranger helped divert traffic away from their vehicle, she said.
The pair were transported by ambulance to Rockyview, where they were assessed and stayed for 24 hours before bringing their new six-pound, nine-ounce baby home to Okotoks.
Although it hadn’t gone as planned, Gordon said her six-hour total labour and delivery couldn’t have been better.
“It wasn’t in the hospital and I wasn’t hooked up to a bunch of machines and IV and all of that,” said Gordon. “It just went so quickly and it was all natural. There could have been complications, but there’s nothing.”
She said it would have been a completely different situation had they been able to deliver in High River, as they planned prior to COVID.
Their trip to Rockyview was actually the second one that day – the couple had travelled in to the hospital on 14 Street SW in Calgary earlier on but were sent home because although Gordon’s contractions were consistent she hadn’t dilated enough to be admitted.
“They said to wait until they got closer together and longer,” she said. “When I came home they had slowed down, so I thought we had quite a while, then all of a sudden it was like, ‘We need to go now.’”
She said a bout of nausea came over her and after vomiting, one long, intense contraction took over and she knew it was time to get back to the hospital.
Seven minutes later their baby was born.
If the maternity ward in High River had been open, she said they probably would have had their baby in hospital, because she wouldn’t have held off as long before returning the second time.
“I was just afraid of going all the way back to Rockyview and then being turned away again,” said Gordon. “If it was back at High River I feel like I would have delivered in the hospital.”
Maternity services at High River Hospital were temporarily relocated to Rockyview effective April 21, as Alberta Health Services consolidated its maternity services in order to free up space in hospitals for those who needed a higher level of care in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and redeploy frontline staff to areas of most need.
Shantel Hunter, manager of acute care at High River Hospital, said they were excited to have the maternity ward return on June 3.
“It’s fully functional and we’ve already delivered our first baby back here, so that was good,” said Hunter on June 4.
She said moving the service out of High River was a difficult decision and had an impact on maternity providers as they had to inform moms their deliveries would be taking place in a different facility.
Physicians and midwives were able to follow their patients to Rockyview in order to provide some continuity in care, she said.
Overall the temporary move went very well, she said.
“We took a very proactive, quick approach and it was quite seamless, which was great,” said Hunter.
She said there are new restrictions and precautions in place on the ward to keep staff, moms, babies and support people safe and healthy during labour and delivery.
Increased sanitation processes are in place, as well as additional screening measures, monitoring, and a limit of one support person per patient, she said.
“Everything is going great,” said Hunter.
Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca
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