Peter Lougheed Centre maternity unit accommodates increase in Calgary’s multiple-births

A state-of-the-art maternity redevelopment in Calgary will mean 60 new care spaces aimed to provide newborns with the “best possible start to life.”

This includes an improved recovery space specifically designed for moms of twins that is large enough to accommodate a bed for each baby plus a bed for their mothers.

Between 2011 and 2016, there was a 26 per cent increase in the number of multiple births in the Calgary area, so the need to have an area dedicated to moms of twins was necessary, Alberta Health told Global News.

In Calgary, there are about 20,000 births each year and the Peter Lougheed Centre supports a referral base of around 2.3 million people from Calgary and southern Alberta. Calgary also is continuing to experience population growth.

“Every year, families have welcomed more than 5,000 new babies, new siblings and new grandchildren into this hospital. Those babies and 30 years of immigration and in-migration have helped to more than double Calgary’s population since the Lougheed opened in 1988,” said Premier Rachel Notley at Friday’s press conference.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Every year, families have welcomed more than 5,000 new babies, new siblings and new grandchildren into this hospital. Those babies and 30 years of immigration and in-migration have helped to more than double Calgary's population since the Lougheed opened in 1988," said Premier Rachel Notley at Friday's press conference.

Among those 60 spaces will be 36 private and semi-private postpartum beds, 11 labour and delivery beds, eight triage beds, five private beds for mothers having a high-risk pregnancy as well as two C-section operating rooms, the government said in a news release Friday.

In addition to expanded bed space, there will be a new fetal monitoring system that allows pregnant women to move around the unit while wearing a belt-like device around their abdomen transmitting real-time alerts and labour progress to the on-staff care team.

“In addition to the great staff on the unit, the environment of a bright and inviting new space will provide comfort for mothers before delivery and while recovering after giving birth,” said Kristine Dy, who gave birth on May 9.

The unit also features larger rooms with increased privacy, more space for families, and better proximity to the neonatal intensive care unit and postpartum units.

The new unit hopes to provide families with the highest level of patient and family-centered care, according to Dr. Verna Yiu, the president and CEO of Alberta Health Services.

The total cost of the new unit is $34 million with a total annual operating cost of $21 million.