pregnancy

The Southwest Health System (SHS) board of directors announced Monday that they will not be closing the family birthing center. This comes after a contentious special board meeting last Thursday where several community members shared their concerns about the possible closure. Hospital officials previously said they’re temporarily closing the birthing center on July 1 in order to keep the organization financially stable. A press release from the hospital announcing their decision to reconsider was released on Monday. About 60 people, including several mothers, showed up to the board meeting last week near the hospital’s emergency services wing to voice their deep concern over the future of maternity care at SHS.

The postpartum period, after childbirth, is a critical time for the health and well being of the mom, her new baby, and her family. On today’s Health and Prevention Report, KSJD’s Tom Yoder spoke with Certified Birth Doula and Childbirth Educator Nikki Gillespie about the nature of postpartum and why it’s a time when the whole community can help new moms get a healthy start.

COVID-19 can be a very dangerous virus for pregnant women who have not been vaccinated against it. Unvaccinated pregnant women are at especially high risk of severe complications, which can affect both the mother and her unborn child. Experts say the vaccine is completely safe to take, but here in Montezuma County, vaccination rates among pregnant women remain low.

Pregnant women who quit smoking are much less likely to have pre-mature and low birth weight babies and reduce the damage that second-hand smoke can have…