The Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital in Lisbon delivered 25 babies on Monday, the highest number since 2013, thanks to a “tremendous effort” by professionals that cannot be sustained for long, the institution’s president warned on Tuesday.
On Monday, the day of the closure of five emergency gynecology and obstetrics departments, the Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital (MAC) recorded 98 admissions and 25 births, five of which were cesarean sections, the highest figure since at least 2013, which was around 22 per day.
“Since 2013, when MAC was integrated into the Central University Hospital of Lisbon, there have not been so many births,” Rosa Valente de Matos, president of the local health unit (ULS) of São José, told Lusa, praising the “great effort” of the team, which “changed its holidays and rest periods to be able to respond to the needs” of the country and the Lisbon region at this moment.
But the administrator warned that the effort “cannot be sustained over the long term” because the team is the same one that was created to handle fewer births and “professionals have their limitations and are tired.”
“These efforts cannot be continuous. Professionals cannot cope with this, so we work in a network with the executive director so that pregnant women who may be discharged can go to their home hospitals,” he said, noting that 60% of the women served by MAC are outside Lisbon.
According to the person in charge, many of the pregnant women who come to MAC are from the South Coast, some from the Santarém area, but there are also women who go there on their own because they know the maternity ward is open.
Given the expected closure of seven gynaecology and obstetrics emergency departments on Thursday (a holiday), eight on Saturday and seven on Sunday, he said the approach in terms of coordination must be even stricter on the part of other hospitals to be able to receive women.
“Executive Director [do SNS, António Gandra d´Almeida] I am sure that you will be thinking about how – if fewer maternity hospitals are opened – this should be done so that the effort does not fall exclusively on the Alfredo da Costa maternity hospital.”
In this sense, he defended the need for coordination at the national level, recalling that “the capabilities of the MAC are also somewhat limited.”
“We have 30 postnatal beds. Obviously, if there is no coordination with other hospitals so that pregnant women who have already given birth can be discharged together with their babies and have the opportunity to go to a hospital in their place of residence or even to their home, this is impossible,” he said.
In August, the MAC recorded an average of 442 emergency room visits per week, up from the July average of 320, and an average of 13 births per day, 15 on weekends (an average of 11 births in the same month in 2023).
ULS San José Nursing Director Maria José Costa Diaz also highlighted the number of births that occurred in one day, attributing the increase to the closure of other maternity hospitals and the fact that pregnant women know that MAC’s doors are open.
“Some come on their own initiative, and we will be here to give the best response, obviously taking into account the unforeseen circumstances that we also have,” said Maria José Costa Diaz, emphasizing the missionary spirit of the professionals who try to “give their best response to those seeking motherhood.”
Rosa Valente de Matos also wanted to express her gratitude to the professionals who make up the emergency teams and the neonatal service that provides care to newborns admitted to intensive care.
“We should all be very grateful to the wonderful team at our maternity hospital. It is a teaching maternity hospital, it is going to be 100 years old, it is a model at the national level, and I think that is also the reason why professionals feel the effort. They will have to make every effort to effectively maintain MAC as a model at the national level,” he stressed.
In a report sent to Lusa, the SNS Executive Directorate indicated that 114 births took place in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo last weekend, 56 on Saturday and 58 on Sunday.
On Saturday, most births took place in the local health unit of Loures-Odivelas (12 births) and in MAC (15). On Sunday, in addition to the Alfredo da Costa maternity hospital (10 births), most births took place in the hospitals of Cascais and Amadora-Sintra, with 11 births each.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.