Česky
Mr. Chief, what does multiple pregnancy mean from an obstetrician's point of view? Is it more joy or more risk?
A triplet pregnancy is always very risky. Given the frequency in the population of about one in 8,000 births, there is minimal experience with it in our setting. As an obstetrician myself, I have always longed for this experience, and I thank our mother to this day for the opportunity to have been involved in monitoring her pregnancy.
How do you experience triplet visits in the delivery room?
I am left with the worry that everything will turn out well, so when I see them toddling down the hallway outside the office, I am always a little relieved that they look so good and that the babies are healthy and well.
You've delivered over 30,000 babies. That's an incredible number to a layman. How do you feel about that?
I've never counted how many babies I've delivered. I don't know the exact number, and I don't think it's possible to count. I wish they were all healthy and made their parents happy. I don't think I would be the most important link in their lives.
At the beginning of December, 16 births took place in the maternity ward in one single day! How did you and your co-workers handle such a rush?
You can't plan the number of births in a day. That's why sometimes there are 2 a day, sometimes 16, like that day. It also depends on the progress of the births and the complications that can happen. Usually, when more mothers come at the same time, the births go smoothly. Sometimes one mommy will keep more than five others busy. But 16 is plenty. Each birth keeps the staff busy not only with the necessary care of mom and baby, but besides that, there is the invisible work of paperwork and filling out all sorts of documents, birth certificates, registries, various applications and much more. When I started years ago, we usually needed a few sheets of paper for the whole period of the stay of the mother and child in the maternity ward, and the mothers stayed for 6 to 8 days. Those who had a caesarean delivery, 12 days.
Hořovice Maternity Hospital has almost doubled the number of births in the last ten years. How do you see the further development of the maternity hospital?
The capacity of the ward is now at the limit of how many births we can handle in a year. If we are to satisfy a higher number of potential parents, we need a change in the overall functioning of the department, especially in terms of staff. Quality, uncongested and happy staff is the first priority in my opinion. Then, of course, we need to enlarge the ward and increase the number of beds for both mothers and newborns.
