Making Room for Miracles
Every pregnancy, every birth is a miracle. At BC Women’s, miracles happen every day. But we’re facing rapidly growing demands on our facilities. We must expand so that pregnant women and families receive the care that they need.
BC Women’s new Ambulatory Care facility will be a single full-service centre that offers pregnant women and families the privacy, comfort and comprehensive services that they need.
Join us as we make room for miracles
In any pregnancy, there is a very short distance between hope and heartbreak. Especially in a high risk pregnancy, the elation of becoming pregnant despite long odds is often quickly followed by anxiety. And small wonder – as many as one in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage. Those women who do carry to term often endure a grueling nine months. And since no woman is pregnant alone, the waiting and worrying, the hope and heartbreak are shared by many other people.
Bursting at the Seams
BC Women’s caregivers face significant challenges in providing advanced treatment in facilities that were designed for the medical care of 20 years ago. Space is small and cramped with services spread throughout several locations, and it’s difficult to accommodate vital new technology. Quite simply, BC Women’s Ambulatory Care is bursting at the seams.
BC Women’s is the largest referral centre in B.C. for high-risk pregnancies, providing care for the most challenging prenatal conditions. As Canada’s busiest maternity hospital, we also care for the thousands of women who will experience “normal” pregnancies.
Women who in the past would have been unable to get pregnant or carry a baby to term can now do so. Such progress also creates a growing need for advanced care for pregnant women with complex health conditions. Services that once required a hospital stay can now be completed in hours, allowing women to go home the same day. This is placing unprecedented demands on our out-patient services for pregnant women.
Since recovering from leukemia as a child, Dina knew she might not be able to bear children. While she was thrilled to finally become pregnant, she had a difficult nine months in front of her. Doctors and specialists at BC Women’s Ambulatory Clinic monitored her health and the progress of her pregnancy carefully, but procedures such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) were made much more complicated because Dina had to go to another hospital.
We’ve got the solution: By adding services and equipment to its Ambulatory Care facilities, BC Women’s is creating a single centre for care that will help more pregnant women and their babies be healthy and strong.
A New Place for Miracles
BC Women’s is rebuilding our Ambulatory Care facilities to meet increased demand with state-of-the-art care. This newly renovated space will give women and families access to comprehensive reproductive care in a patient-centered, efficient and accessible area.
The new Ambulatory Care centre will help families by providing:
- Care for women with early and recurrent pregnancy loss
- Comprehensive prenatal care for women with diabetes, blood disorders or other high risk pregnancy conditions
- A range of prenatal care services, from physiotherapy to nutrition counseling
- Enhanced access to family physician care during pregnancy
- Breastfeeding education and support
Special Care for Early Pregnancy Loss
Dealing with complications in a pregnancy can be terrifying. Patients seek answers and attention immediately, not an agonizing wait in an Emergency Room. Through the new Early Pregnancy Loss service, women will have quick access to experts in reproductive care. The program will provide care for women experiencing complications in early pregnancy or multiple miscarriages. Women and their families will receive coordinated counseling, diagnosis and treatment services, allowing them to cope with the heartbreak and rekindle hope.
During a routine visit four months into her pregnancy, Jennifer’s doctor discovered some irregularities in her baby’s heartbeat. A detailed ultrasound at BC Women’s detected a serious heart defect. The prognosis was not good: Jennifer and her husband Dan were gently told that their baby would not likely make it to full term. There were other appointments waiting, so the stunned couple left, walking through the crowded waiting room to the elevator, where they both broke down. By the time they reached the parkade, they were inconsolable. That’s where a BC Women’s staff member found them, huddled against their car, sobbing.
We’ve got the solution: Our new Ambulatory Care clinic will have a private room for women and families to use when they receive distressing news. A comforting space where resources are easily accessed, this area will offer families the privacy and dignity they need.
You Can Help us Make Room for Miracles
Our new Ambulatory Care clinic will provide pregnant women and families with the best possible care. Women with high risk pregnancies will have access to the specialized care they need. And special services such as a breastfeeding clinic will ensure babies get the best possible start in life.
But we can’t do it without you. While government funding covers building costs, we’re counting on the generosity of donors to equip our new and enhanced services. We need your help to create an Ambulatory Care facility that sustains BC Women’s leadership in care for pregnant women and families.
Pregnancy will always involve elements of hope and heartbreak. We’ll never change that. But we can change the way we care for pregnant women and families. Your donation to the “Making Room for Miracles” campaign will ensure B.C. families have the best chance possible for a safe and healthy pregnancy. Your contribution will help families experience the most precious gift of all – the miracle of life.