Editor: Nothing confirms the opinion that we are living in an age of entitlement more than a recent letter concerning a birth centre at Canmore Hospital. I found myself quite angered at the self-indulgent opinions expressed in this piece, tempered only by the notion that we all have a right to express an opinion.
Canmore Hospital has, for many years, strived to provide a comfortable, safe environment for the delivery of babies. We were early believers in the concept of birthing rooms where mother and family could be together in a more comfortable setting than a hospital room. We have midwives and doulas often in attendance at the hospital and there is backup for the midwives should trouble arise.
There are skilled and committed family doctors who provide round the clock care for these mothers and we have seen huge growth in the number of deliveries performed each year (this alone tells me that we are doing something right).
As the letter states, the use of baths for delivery has not shown sufficient benefit to accept the rare risks associated with this. I think also the writer has not been to Britain, or she would realize that there is a very significant difference in population density. This means that people are not far from hospital backup, there is an incredible ambulance system in place, many equipped with “flying squads” of physicians and equipment that can attend home deliveries. The hospitals are also fully staffed with nurse midwives who are constantly on shift with the mothers.
We cannot compare this to a rural hospital, providing low-risk maternity care by family doctors. So, for the letter writer to state that “… with a medical system that prioritizes doctors rather than expectant mothers, I had no other choice” is incredibly insulting to the doctors who provide this service, night and day, 365 days of the year – considerably more than her one delivery.
As the writer states, childbirth is a natural and organic process. So is tuberculosis, cancer, smallpox and many other conditions which, with the advance of medical research and care, have provided better outcomes. One hundred years ago this natural process was certainly more natural and it was accepted that a high infant and maternal mortality rate was also a natural outcome.
The strangest part of the letter, however, is the suggestion of building a birthing centre. Does the writer have any concept of what would be required for such a public health facility? And who is going to provide the care of the mothers in this facility? What arrangements will there be if (or when) something goes wrong and does this then ‘inconvenience’ the doctors again?
I could have sympathised with the writer had she expressed her opinion on this subject and made suggestions. To say that birthing at the Canmore Hospital is dictated by medical staff protocols and that the process is focused on the convenience of the doctors is untrue and, in my opinion, both insulting and disappointing. The primary objective of obstetric care is the best possible outcome for both mother and baby. We try very hard to provide this in as supportive and comfortable an environment as we can but we cannot be all things to all people.
Dr. Rick Balharry,
Chief of Staff, Canmore General Hospital
