October 7, 2016
Megan Cox sits in the labour and delivery lounge at the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre where her children Andie, 10 months, and Reagan, 3, were born. Megan says she felt fortunate to use a new birthing bed that was purchased through community donations.
Photo courtesy of Barry Neath
PONOKA — The Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre is celebrating one of its newest arrivals — a birthing bed.
Designed with birthing moms’ comfort and safety in mind, the high-tech bed, which was delivered in August, joins one already at the care centre.
For Ponoka mom Megan Cox, the birthing beds have proven a vast improvement over regular hospital beds.
“It’s really nice being able to easily adjust the position of the bed quickly when needed,” says the 27-year-old mom of two girls, Reagan, 3, and Andie, 10 months.
“It didn’t take long to change the position of the bed when it was time to deliver the baby, and really easy to change the position of the backrest when I needed to,” adds Cox.
Acute Care Manager Lisa Barrett says: “Having two beds is better than one. Now we don’t have to move people around when a mom goes into labour.”
The new bed is fully automatic, giving moms in labour the option to raise or lower the backrest themselves with the push of a button, giving them the liberty to lay back or sit upright.
“The freedom of movement in labour is not only critical in assisting in the birthing process,” says Barrett, “it’s just nice to move and switch positions when one position becomes too painful.”
Funded by donations to the 2015 Festival of Trees event, the new bed cost $42,000 — and health care staff say they’re happy with its ease of use.
“The footrest moves under the bed when baby is ready to deliver, allowing mom to sit up for the birth, which is much more comfortable,” says Barrett.
It also provides critical leg and calf support for mom, so, for example, if she wants to lie on her side to give birth, the bed provides a leg support that can swivel to any position and hold mom’s leg for her. This makes it easy for staff to attend to mom in other ways and let the bed support her legs.
The bed also features a high-quality mattress with air support — pockets that can be inflated to the desired firmness. With locking wheels and side rails, the bed provides safety in an emergency. allowing staff to wheel mom straight to the operating room.
“We’ve doubled in births since 2012 from 60 that year to about 140 in 2015, so having the extra bed is nice because at times we’ve been in the situation where two babies are being born at the same time,” adds Barrett.
“We’re really fortunate and so grateful to have such active fundraising in our community, and the Festival of Trees event has been a huge support over the years helping fund our health care.”
Fundraising for the hospital is a real partnership in Ponoka, with not only the Festival of Trees, which is community-driven, but with the Ponoka Hospital & Care Centre Auxiliary and the Ponoka & District Health Foundation pitching in as well.
Auxiliary President Joyce Mackenzie says she’s pleased with the partnership: “There are so many dedicated people in these groups and it’s always a pleasure working with them for a common cause.”
Dorothy Ungstad, Chair of the Ponoka & District Health Foundation, agrees: “The fundraising groups share the same philosophy with the care centre where family and patient-centred care are the focus.
Going forward, the foundation, the auxiliary and Festival of Trees group are teaming up to raise funds for diagnostic equipment for the endoscopy program at the health centre.
For more information, please visit ponokahealthfoundation.com
