KATHMANDU, Aug 3: A shortage of maternity beds at Bharatpur Hospital has forced the hospital to provide postpartum care to new mothers on floor mattresses during the peak childbirth season.
The hospital experiences its highest patient load from the second half of Asar to the end of Bhadra, when deliveries surge. It has a total of 111 maternity-related beds, including 23 post-operative gynecology beds, 23 gynecology beds, 10 high-dependency gynecology beds, 23 postnatal beds, four maternity admission beds, 15 waiting beds, five active labor beds, three labor beds, and five birthing unit beds.
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Senior obstetrician and Associate Professor Dr. Ram Prasad Sapkota said the hospital conducts between 40 and 50 deliveries every day. Women who require medication before delivery are admitted to beds, but those waiting for admission are often left on mattresses placed on the floor until beds become available.
Bharatpur Hospital is the preferred maternity center for women from Chitwan and neighboring districts because of its experienced nursing staff, specialist doctors, neonatal intensive care unit, and comprehensive maternal care services.
Dr. Sapkota, who also serves as the hospital's spokesperson, said beds are usually sufficient during other times of the year, but demand exceeds capacity during the current peak season. Since the surge lasts only a few months, expanding bed capacity solely for this period is difficult.
He said the increase in deliveries may be linked to Nepal's major festivals, Dashain and Tihar, when many people return home, leading to a rise in pregnancies that result in births during this season.
The hospital has 10 obstetric specialists and 29 nurses trained in maternity care. It also operates a 20-bed neonatal intensive care unit, a four bed Kangaroo Mother Care unit for premature babies, and a five-bed birthing unit where only trained nurses and midwives assist in normal deliveries.
According to Dr. Sapkota, the hospital provided maternity services to 7,853 women in the last fiscal year. Of them, 4,235 had normal deliveries, 3,540 underwent Caesarean sections, and 70 required vacuum or forceps-assisted deliveries.
In the previous fiscal year, the hospital handled 8,420 deliveries, including 4,408 normal births, 3,825 Caesarean sections, and 187 assisted deliveries using vacuum or forceps.
Dr Sapkota said the hospital performs a relatively high number of Caesarean sections because it receives many high-risk and complicated pregnancy cases from across the region.
