Labour and birth services temporarily redirected from Upper River Valley Hospital

(WATERVILLE) – Horizon wishes to inform the public that labour and birth services will be temporarily unavailable at Horizon’s Upper River Valley Hospital (URVH) from Monday, Feb. 9 at 8 a.m. until Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8 a.m.

All pregnant individuals who would normally deliver their babies at URVH will need to travel to Horizon’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital (DECRH) or Vitalité’s Edmundston Regional Hospital (ERH), whichever is closest.

The reason for this change is due to a lack of surgical and anesthesiology coverage to provide emergency caesarian sections (C-sections).

Even if a pregnant individual feels they are low-risk and do not require a C-section, they must still travel to the DECRH or ERH for labour and birth, as pregnancy-related issues and emergency situations can quickly arise during childbirth.

All individuals in the URVH service area who are 35 weeks pregnant and over are being contacted by nursing staff.

Horizon understands this temporary change will require additional travel for expectant families in the Upper River Valley area, and we sincerely appreciate their patience and understanding.

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