Maternity ward

At the Vestfjörður Health Center in Ísafjörður, women are offered continuous midwifery services for pregnancy care, childbirth and childbirth. You can also consult a midwife in connection with breastfeeding from birth and throughout the breastfeeding period. Emphasis is placed on quality and personal service, and the facilities of the maternity unit allow us to offer the togetherness of both parents and baby in the first days after birth.

The delivery department has a spacious delivery room with bath, shower and toilet. The department also has two homely bed rooms with double beds as well as one smaller living room with a single bed. There is also a sitting room, a small children's room and a toilet with a shower.

Every year there are around 40-60 women in pregnancy protection here in Ísafjörður. The maternity ward receives about 30-40 babies a year. Women who suffer from complications during pregnancy or have underlying diseases are also provided with outpatient care at the maternity ward and work in close collaboration with LSH's high-risk pregnancy care when appropriate.

Choice of place of birth

All healthy women with a normal singleton pregnancy and women with mild complications can give birth here. The vast majority of women who come in here to give birth can expect that the birth will proceed normally. The institute still has access to the operating room all day long if necessary. In the years 2015-2020, almost 121 TP2T babies were born by caesarean section, and one-fifth of these operations were planned in advance.

There are always some women who have been in pregnancy protection here who, for some reason, need or prefer to give birth at other places of birth. The vast majority of them are available to lie on their beds here in the department or receive the services of a midwife at home and, of course, discuss these issues with a midwife.

Support during childbirth

It is important that women in labor have good support from their partners and/or other relatives, but can also give birth undisturbed in a quiet environment. Women are therefore encouraged to choose with them the birth partners they trust most to provide support, but it is pointed out that the number of spectators during birth is rarely beneficial.

Visits to the maternity ward

It is very important that mothers can rest well after giving birth, that new parents and siblings have privacy to bond with the newborn, and that mothers have enough time to initiate breastfeeding. Therefore, it is requested that visits to the quilters are kept to a minimum and it is pointed out that they are only intended for relatives. All visitors are encouraged to wash their hands well before greeting the quilters, and due to the risk of infection, visits by children under the age of 12, other than siblings, are not recommended.

Updated 3 July 2024 (HEP)