Health City delivers for families

A new maternity ward at Health City Cayman Islands’ Camana Bay facility is giving parents – and soon-to-be parents – much-welcomed options in pre-natal and post-natal care, as well as new state-of-the-art care for premature babies.

The maternity ward, which opened for new patients in mid-February, boasts four in-house gynaecologists — with a fifth one coming soon — as well as six in-house paediatricians and two midwives.

Pregnancy care
Care at Health City’s new maternity ward can start as soon as a woman learns she is pregnant, says Dr. Mamatha Gowda, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a medical geneticist and fetal medicine specialist.

“After any woman has conceived, she can walk in and receive pre-natal care,” she says, adding that once a patient has checked in, care can start in the consultation room, where one of two kinds of ultrasound tests can be conducted — depending on the trimester — to determine the health of the foetus.

“Genetic abnormalities can also be determined through a screening test,” Dr. Gowda says.

If the initial tests indicate a possible problem, follow-up procedures like blood tests can be managed in investigation rooms.

In addition to monitoring a pregnancy throughout its term, the doctors and nurses at Health City’s maternity ward consider each expectant mother’s needs throughout the pregnancy. In addition to the doctors and nurses available, two highly trained and experienced midwives are available for expectant mothers as well.

The two midwives facilitate classes on a variety of topics for new parents. Relevant classes are made available to partners as well and all on a rotating basis throughout each trimester, so if a new patient or partner has missed one, they can catch up. One-on-one training is also available, which includes providing collaborative support in high-risk pregnancies.

Delivery
The second floor of the maternity ward is where new mothers spend most of their time.

In the pre-delivery area, patients who are in labour are made comfortable.

“While in labour, a foetal heart rate monitor is made available,” says Dr. Gowda. “If in the case where a pregnancy should not be prolonged, we can induce her before her natural labour. In such cases, we need continuous monitoring of the foetus heart rate.”

There are seven anaesthesiologists at Health City at Camana Bay, so around-the-clock care can be provided and epidurals will always be available to women in labour.

“We want them to have a comfortable, enjoyable delivery experience rather than a traumatic one,” Dr. Gowda says.

Should the expectant mother require a Caesarean section, those surgeries take place on the maternity ward’s third floor, where these surgeries and other emergency procedures take place.

Under normal circumstances, though, when a patient is ready to give birth, she will be moved into the delivery area where she will stay until after the birth of her baby.

The delivery area is filled with natural sunlight, which helps babies born with jaundice, and the settings are contemporary, peaceful and comfortable. Urgent care items are fitted into the bed and the rooms so that in the rare case of an emergency, any care needed can be seamless without having to move the mother or baby.

Premature babies
If a baby is born prematurely, the Health City maternity ward has the most modern equipment that will ensure excellent care of the child, says Health City’s Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Dr. Indu Gaur.

If a baby is born prematurely, the new neonatal intensive care unit at the ward provides critical care. The unit has been designated a Level 3 NICU – meaning it can care for babies born before 32 weeks gestation, weighing less than 3 pounds, 5 ounces or those with medical conditions or needing surgery.

“Even if they have to stay for many days or weeks, which is what usually happens in premature babies, we have what is needed,” says Dr. Gaur. “It’s a kind of pride in hospitals — the weight of the baby that can be saved. I have delivered a baby when it was only 500 grams at 26 weeks. After three months, we successfully discharged it.”

In the past, babies requiring intensive care had to be air-lifted off island to receive the care they required, which could be expensive and challenging for families. Now, everything can be managed on site.

In cases where a baby needs intensive care, Health City’s maternity ward has a “family integrated care room,” where families can stay together with the newborn. In the past, babies requiring intensive care had to be airlifted off island to receive the care they required, which could be expensive and challenging for families.

Now, everything can be managed on-site at Health City.

This article was first published in the April/May 2025 print edition of Camana Bay Times.