‘THEY WERE TEARING OUR YOUNG FAMILY APART’

Mum tells of traumatic time as beds shortage sees her premature twins transferred between four hospitals in five weeks. By Cecile Meier.

PREMATURE twins Nikau and Blake Shilling spent their first five weeks being shuffled through four different hospitals including three air ambulance flights.

And whatmumJonelle Shilling described as ‘‘probably the most traumatic time in my life’’ comes amid warnings that overcrowding at Christchurch’s Neonatal Intensive Unit (Nicu) is unfairly affecting vulnerable mums with twins.

Overcrowding has plagued Christchurch Women’s Hospital’s Nicu since it opened in 2005, as women get pregnant later in life and at-risk pregnancies increase. Since the start of this year, there have been more babies in the unit than cots and at least two other mothers of twins have been sent to other cities to give birth in the past six months.

Shilling, who is from the West Coast, had an emergency caesarean at 29 weeks at Christchurch Women’s Hospital in December. The birth went well, but, on Christmas night, she was told that she and her tiny oneweek-old boys were going to Wellington Hospital because the unit needed the cots for two babies in urgent need.

Her partner and four-year-old daughter could not go. Shilling packed for a flight at 4.30 am.

‘‘The minute I agreed to this, no nurse or doctor made us feel comfortable at all. They treated us really rudely as if we should just hurry up and get out,’’ she said.

‘‘I had no sleep at all and was crying all night.

‘‘It was really nerve-racking. The doctors told me it was easier to send one family and clear two beds than send two families.

‘‘I feel like they really guilt-tripped me into leaving, not realising they were hurting my family because they were tearing us away from each other for so long while the babies grew.’’

Two weeks later, Wellington’s neonatal intensive unit was full too so the twins were sent on another air ambulance to Nelson.

Two weeks later they took their third air ambulance to Greymouth’s Grey Base Hospital, finally close to their Hokitika home. The hospital could not cater for premature babies younger than the twins.

‘‘I would never want another family to ever experience what I did,’’ Shilling said.

Multiple birth club committee member Katrina Howden has helped other transferred mothers since she was sent to Dunedin to give birth to twin girls in 2014.

‘‘Sending twin mums frees up two beds – they don’t want us,’’ she said.

This was unfair on mothers with twins, who were ‘‘even more sleep-deprived’’ with two babies to feed while often recovering from a caesarean birth.

Christchurch Women’s Hospital Nicu clinical director Adrienne Lynn said transferring premature babies was a rare, lastresort decision and must be ‘‘clinically appropriate’’.

‘‘The only times we’ve done this previously was after the February 22, 2011 earthquake.’’

Admissions to Nicu were unpredictable, ‘‘so if we get an influx of critical babies who urgently require a cot, we need to prioritise [them]’’, Lynn said.

Christchurch’s Nicu cared for up to 1000 babies a year. The Staff worked ‘‘extremely hard’’ and were ‘‘very dedicated’’.

New Zealand College of Midwives advisor Jacqui Anderson said transferring pregnant women and babies ‘‘causes upset and distress’’.

‘‘Unfortunately this is not uncommon for families living rurally in New Zealand,’’ she said.

It could be ‘‘extremely difficult and frightening’’ for women to be away from their home and family support.

I would never want another family to ever experience what I did.’ JONELLE SHILLING