Ottawa Birthing Center reborn after major flood

More than a year after a major disaster, the Ottawa Birth and Wellness Center is experiencing a renaissance. The establishment reopened on October 23.

Just two hours after opening, the staff was welcoming life.

Sylvie Beaudry, senior clinical midwife at the Center, was standing in the hallway with a colleague when she heard, for the first time in months, the cries of a baby.

We both cried and hugged each other. We were so full of joysays the midwife.

Maria Krioutchkova visited the birth center shortly after it opened with her partner, Neil Hughes. The one who will give birth for the first time confided that she wanted to find a calm and peaceful atmosphere there to give birth.

We want to bring our daughter into the world in a very relaxed state of mind. Pregnancy is already very stressfulshe confided.

More damage than expected

The center of the street Walkley was forced to close due to major damage caused by floods in August 2023. This disaster was a hard blow for the establishment which has seen 2,400 babies born since its opening in 2014.

During the closure, midwives had to find other places to practice while parents were forced to review their birth plans.

This was a huge blow to morale, our community and our teamdeclared Ms. Beaudry.

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The closure of the center was initially expected to last a shorter period of time.

Officials had estimated that it would take a few months to get everything back in order, before realizing that the damage caused by the floods had been most important than they had imagined.

The Ottawa Birth and Wellness Center is one of two such facilities funded by the ministry in Ontario.

With information fromIsabel Harderof CBC News.