Community member & grandmother encourages PeaceHealth to move Birth Center adjacent to RiverBend

Click here to see 26 more letters encouraging PeaceHealth to relocate the Birth Center adjacent to RiverBend.


February 1, 2009

Dear PeaceHealth Board of Directors and other concerned parties:

I am writing as a long time community member and grandmother to ask that you make it a top priority to move the PeaceHealth Midwifery Birth Center to the RiverBend area.

I had my own children while living in Eugene. That was many years ago. Birth rooms and attention to the birthing environment or emotional needs of the mother/father were just beginning to be considered by hospitals. My deliveries were both hard and took some time for me to sort through, thus affecting me as a new mother.

A year ago my daughter had her first baby. While the stages of the actual delivery paralleled mine, her whole experience was totally different; it was positive. The Birth Center is what made the difference. The staff there is amazing. Throughout the pregnancy, my daughter had easy access to people who were very supportive, available at all times, and, most important, very knowledgeable.

The follow up by the Birth Center after my granddaughter’s birth has been more than I could have ever dreamed of having. I have gone with my daughter and granddaughter for a weekly “check in” at Baby Clinic. You can’t put a price tag on how important that kind of support is for a new mother. In the waiting room are mothers, fathers, and babies of all sizes. The orientation of the Birth Center promotes interaction, support, and community. These are all so critical to the health of both the child and family.

Are you going to make decisions for your hospital just based on numbers and ledgers? What the Birth Center offers is not quantifiable by numbers. And, the Birth Center is not redundant. It has a unique role and fills an important need in the community. If you do not understand that, then you have not taken the time to sit in the waiting room and talk to the parents there, or to talk with a pregnant woman who has used its services.

It is extremely important for the health of new families that the Birth Center moves, as has been planned, to the River Bend location.

Sincerely,
Anne McRae