A handful of Northeast Maternity Care Advocates met last week to discuss efforts to collect both statistics and stories as they try to find solutions to deal with the dearth of maternity care in Northeast Philadelphia.
Sue Rosenthal, who chairs the community board at the city's District 10 Health Center near Cottman and Bustleton avenues, led the discussion of the Northeast Maternity Care Advocates, who have been meeting regularly since Jeanes Hospital closed its obstetrics unit in 2007.
Since then, four more area hospitals, including Northeastern Hospital, for a total of 18 have closed their doors to laboring moms-to-be.
"Whatever help is going to come isn't going to come quickly," Rosenthal said.
Prior to asking for support and action from legislators, the group is surveying community interest for a birthing center, as well as collecting the stories of Northeast Philadelphia women whose prenatal care or birth experiences have been affected by the maternity unit closures.
They'd like to know:
¥ Did you experience interrupted or otherwise unsatisfactory care due to fewer options as maternity units and hospitals have closed?
¥ Did you find offices overcrowded or experience long wait times for appointments or procedures?
¥ Were your options limited due to transportation or distance to the nearest hospital?
¥ Did a lack of delivery options result in unwanted procedures during birth?
If you'd like to share your story, you can e-mail it with your ZIP code to phillybirthstories@gmail.com
Let them know if they can use your name.
If you would like to be contacted for an interview, e-mail the above address with your name, telephone number and a good time to call you to schedule an appointment. Include your ZIP code.
To participate in the online survey, visit this link.
|
