The Weyburn General Hospital has been without a maternity ward for six years. It was closed in June 2007, and has remained closed to the present day.
The Weyburn General Hospital has been without a maternity ward for six years. It was closed in June 2007, and has remained closed to the present day.
Mothers who had their babies in other communities were interviewed on how the lack of a maternity ward affects them.
Tamara Seghers is the mother of four-year-old Samara and 18-month-old Titan. She had to go to the Regina hospital for both deliveries.
"Samara had a hole in her heart, so we knew that we would be in Regina for her, but for Titan we were a little concerned ab out the trip," said Tamara.
"The second baby usually comes quicker, and if we could have had him in Weyburn, we would have done that."
During the pregnancy, Tamara had to see two different doctors, one here in Weyburn and another one in Regina.
She rotated prenatal visits between Dr. Bierman in Weyburn, and then one with Dr. McMeekan-Down in Regina.
When Tamara went into labour, she did go to the Weyburn hospital first, but was told to go to Regina. "My anxiety was through the roof."
Tamara said that her worries included "horror" stories of having the baby delivered in the ambulance. "We were just happy that we made it to Regina in time. We were just hoping and praying to make it on time."
Even though she and husband Steve made it to Regina without having to deliver on the side of the road, Tamara was still placed in the waiting room at the Regina hospital because of the over-crowded situation at their maternity ward. "I was in the waiting room, in labour for three hours. Titan was coming by the time we got a bed."
"I was out of the hospital by the next day," said Tamara. She said it was very different compared to when she had Samara, when she stayed in the hospital for a week after Samara's birth.
Lindsey Vogel is the mother of four children. She went to a doctor in Radville for all her pregnancies because of a lack of doctors in Weyburn. Lindsey had an ambulance birth for her second child, seven-year-old Jack.
When Jack was ready to be born, he came quickly. "My doctor in Radville is not allowed to deliver at that hospital.
I was fully dilated, and ended up giving birth in the ambulance."
She said that her husband John Vogel was following behind the ambulance, when it pulled over so she could give birth. "It was horrible for him. He didn't know what was going on."
Lindsey added that if Weyburn had a maternity ward, she and Jack would have made that hospital in time.
But it was her experience with Jack that had Lindsey worried about her other pregnancies. "I had a lot of worry for my third and fourth because of how fast Jack was born."
Her third child Nelleke is now four years old, and her fourth child Jed is two years old. Lindsey was very stressed about traveling to Regina for her other pregnancies, so she took an ambulance for both labours.
But Lindsey was especially stressed when she was carrying Jed. "He was born with Down Syndrome, so I worried that there wasn't the proper equipment in the ambulance."
"It is very stressful as a mother, knowing that you have complications. You are riding in a bumpy ambulance, not knowing what was going on."
Her doctor from Radville, Dr. Oberholzer was "wonderful", according to Lindsey, as he rode in the ambulance with her.
Leslie Richards had decided to deliver both her children at the Moose Jaw hospital. She is married to James Richards; Peter is three years old, and Magdalena is one year old.
Her decision to go to Moose Jaw was because of some horror stories at the Regina hospital. "The Regina hospital is being taxed 10-fold, and it is not just because of patients from Weyburn," said Richards.
"A town of this size should support a maternity ward," said Richards. "It is a detriment to community growth to not have a maternity ward."
"It also hasn't been clear why we don't have a maternity ward at the Weyburn hospital," added Richards. "There are a lot of unanswered questions."
Originally, Peter was supposed to be a planned C-section for Leslie, however he came early. "We went to the Weyburn hospital, and the nurse there was very helpful. She called Moose Jaw so that they would know we were on the way."
"All of our prenatal care was here in Weyburn, then we had a completely different team of doctors in Moose Jaw.
Labour is a very vulnerable time for a mother," said Richards. "You really don't want to meet strangers who will deliver your child."
Ashley McKay had her daughter Skyler Pedersen 18 months ago. It was a difficult pregnancy for her, and she required bed rest for most of the pregnancy.
"I went to the Weyburn hospital because the baby hadn't moved in 24 hours, but there was nothing they could do for me. They didn't even check me out, they just sent me right to Regina."
"I was very scared, I was shaking the whole time," said McKay. Even the Estevan hospital couldn't accept her at the time because they didn't have an anesthesiologist.
She didn't even have her husband, Kenneth Pedersen, with her at the hospital at the time.
The situation and fear caused Ashley's blood pressure to rise, which triggered her labour. "My biggest fear was pulling over on the road, and having birth on the road."
Further complications arose during the labour, by the time that Ashley arrived in Regina. "My family doctors had my due date wrong, so she was actually overdue by two weeks."
"My birth canal was too small, and I tried pushing her out, but she got stuck. They had to rush me into the emergency room for a C-section."
Laurin Penner is another new mom, who gave birth to her daughter Kylin Hoffman six-and-a-half months ago.
"I am new to the community, so I didn't even realize that there was no maternity ward," said Laurin. "I was really surprised. They had a hospital, so I just assumed they would do it all."
Once learning of the maternity situation Laurin and husband Rick Hoffman were trying to decide between going to Moose Jaw or Regina.
Then Kylin developed a heart defect, sending Laurin to Saskatoon to deliver her baby. "I was up there a week before the due date. We ended up renting an apartment instead of a hotel because it was cheaper."
But the concern for the lack of a maternity ward is still on Laurin's mind. "I know a lot of other moms, and I don't think rushing up to Regina would be a fun trip."
"I was able to be in Saskatoon a week before my labour, then a week in the hospital with Kylin."
Since Laurin's daughter had a heart defect, it is stressful to not have a pediatrician here in Weyburn. "Kylin has had heart surgery, but since then has developed another condition. We go to Regina twice a month to see a doctor, either a specialist or a pediatrician."
