By FRANCESCA MOLD
It's raining babies at hospitals throughout the North Island.
In Auckland, tiny triplets and twins have taken over National Women's Hospital newborn intensive care unit and maternity wards are experiencing a record number of births.
The hospital's unit for premature and critically ill babies is overflowing after a sudden surge in multiple births - with three sets of triplets and six sets of twins making up 21 of the 55 babies in the unit.
At one point last week, staff could not accept new admissions because the 59-bed unit was full. That day, doctors and nurses also had to cope with the births of four extremely premature babies within two hours.
National Women's general maternity wards are also experiencing a 3 per cent increase in deliveries this year.
The hospital's luxury 12-bed Cornwall Suite, which caters for women prepared to pay at least $168 a day for a large private room, ana la carte menu and queen-sized bed, is at 95 per cent occupancy and booked up months in advance.
Middlemore was also experiencing a rise in multiple births - many the result of successful fertility treatment. Other hospitals, including Waikato, Waitakere and North Shore, are also extremely busy with newborns.
The surge in births comes as Statistics New Zealand revealed new figures showing the annual birth rate is the highest in the past six years.
There were 57,486 live births in New Zealand in the year to September 2000. Also for the first time since records began in 1912, New Zealand women are now more likely to give birth in their early thirties than their late twenties.
The fertility rate for women aged 30-34 was 117 births per 1000 women, slightly above a rate of 116 for the 25-29 age group.
The new figures also show New Zealand's fertility levels exceed those in Australia, Canada, England and Wales, France, Japan, the Netherlands and Sweden by at least 10 per cent.
National Women's clinical director of newborn services, Dr David Knight, said the neonatal unit was often particularly busy because it took extra babies referred from outside Auckland.
In the past two years, about 150 sick or premature babies have been referred for specialist care.
The surge in cases put pressure on staff, especially nurses who spent the most time with the sick newborns. The unit is also 10 nurses short.
"But as a unit we have coped and always will," said Dr Knight.
Mark and Jo Mallinger, parents of triplets Jasmine, Paige and Brooke, say they are grateful for the special care their babies are receiving at National Women's.
"The staff have been brilliant. It's hard to bond with your babies when they are in incubators but the nurses make you feel like you're still a mum and dad."
The three girls, conceived without fertility treatment, were born by caesarean nine days ago at just 31 weeks.
Paige, weighing 1660g, was the first, delivered at 9.37 pm, followed one minute later by Brooke, 1160g, and Jasmine, 1300g, just 30 seconds behind her sister.
The Mallingers are not sure when they will be able to take their little girls home as the triplets are still learning to breathe on their own.
Premature births keep hospital staff busy
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.