Birth is supposed to be the most peaceful and stress-free experience for a mother, but for one local woman this certainly didn’t happen.
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And, she said, it was all due to no doctors being available at the Young District Hospital the day she went into labour, forcing her to travel to Cowra to give birth to her son.
The woman’s struggle with the town’s shortage of doctors actually began during her pregnancy when she was referred to three different doctors every time one went on holidays.
One month prior to the birth, she received a phone call from the hospital telling her they had limited services available and “if she gets any pains to call them as soon as possible”.
Then the unthinkable happened.
“When I was three centimetres dilated and my contractions were three minutes apart, they said we have to send you on,” the mother said.
“My first request was to go to Temora because I have family there but there were no services available there and no doctors on call. Cootamundra – nothing.
“My only options were to go to Wagga or Cowra.”
She also said she requested transport but was told she had to find her own way there.
“This was my second baby – and we all know the second baby comes quicker than the first,” she said.
“I’m very disappointed in the service, or lack of, at the Young District Hospital.”
The mother said the one hour trip to Cowra District Hospital was “horrible”, with her contractions increasing to one minute apart, the pain “intense” and feeling every bump in the road along the way.
By the time she reached Cowra, she was seven centimetres dilated.
“My contractions had slowed down once I got to Cowra and laid down,” she said.
“The doctor [in Cowra] suggested the road trip brought on the contractions. It just happened to be bad luck it was my doctor’s (doctor number two) day off.”
She was welcomed back to the Young Hospital after the birth if she wanted to rest for a couple of days.
The woman said she had heard the Young Hospital say they were expecting a record number of babies in July and couldn’t understand why they couldn’t get a city doctor in for a couple of weeks.
“Sure sending women off isn’t the best option… The same thing happened to my sister 10 years ago. She was six centimetres dilated and was sent to Cowra so it’s still happening,” she said.
“I have to say the treatment at Cowra was brilliant… If I have another baby I’d drive the hour to Cowra to have my baby there after the treatment I had here. I’m disgusted.”
