Boom time for babies at Tauranga Hospital
Tauranga Hospital has just experienced its busiest month for births since midwives and nurses can remember.
A total of 211 babies, or nearly seven a day, were born at the hospital in May.
The births are 27 per cent up on April. Hospital spokeswoman Diana Marriott said things were so busy, the maternity ward required extra staffing to deal with the influx.
First time mum Aly Palmer had nothing but praise for how Tauranga Hospital midwives and nursing staff coped.
Aly, 37, and her partner Daniel Oxenham, 38, from Matua, said their daughter Madyson, born on May 2, was a planned caesarean birth. Ms Palmer said Madyson, whose birth weight was 3740 grams, now weighs 5443g and is doing well.
Ms Palmer said when she was first admitted to hospital, she didn't pay a lot of attention to how busy the maternity services were.
"I was in my own little world with our new baby but once I moved on to the ward I could see how rushed off their feet the midwives were.
"It was horrendously busy on May 4 with seven caesarean births which I was told was almost double the usual three to four a day. That's on top of the normal deliveries," Ms Palmer said.
"But despite how pressured they were, all the staff were just wonderful."
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One theory was the boom was connected to the Rugby World Cup. There were nearly 38 weeks between the opening ceremony and the end of May this year.
Another theory to bring on the spate of births was the recent super moon, which rose above Tauranga skies on May 6 appearing about 10 per cent larger than normal.
Ms Marriott said such ideas behind the births had been bantered about staff but they "didn't feel there was any significant reason for it. Basically it's one of the busiest times they can ever recall".
Ms Palmer, who is a registered nurse, said seeing the maternity services from a patient's perspective only confirmed there is real potential for Tauranga to explore getting its own private birthing unit facility.
Ms Palmer said while it was possible some May births could be attributed to the Rugby World Cup, that was not case with Madyson's birth.
She said she fell pregnant during her and her partner's trip to the Martinborough Wine and Food Festival after winning the prize at the previous year's festival, the prize included a weekend's stay in a country cottage resort.
Papamoa mother Ellen Irvine, a Bay of Plenty Times senior writer, gave birth to daughter Penelope at Tauranga Hospital on May 4.
Mrs Irvine, a member of the same ante-natal group as Ms Palmer, said staff told her they were rushed off their feet. Despite this, Mrs Irvine said the level of care was "outstanding".
