Chatham Hospital Opens Maternity Center, Delivers Babies After 28 Years

Chatham Hospital opened its new maternity center this week to improve health care and better serve new mothers in the Siler City area.

The Chatham Hospital Maternity Care Center opened on Tuesday, September 8 and will now begin delivering babies at the hospital for the first time in nearly 30 years.

According to a UNC Health press release, many smaller, rural hospitals around the country – including in North Carolina – have stopped delivering babies, but Chatham Hospital is on its way to reverse that trend. UNC Health invested $2.6 million-dollars to build the new Maternity Care Center and improve available care to residents of Siler City and the surrounding communities.

One of the goals of Chatham Hospital’s new Maternity Care Center is to “promote birth equity in our rural community, and improve important health milestones including maternal and infant outcomes.”

Jeff Strickler, the president of Chatham Hospital, said its important for UNC Health to provide these services so expectant mothers do not have to drive an hour or more to get the basic maternity care they need.

“We have a close partnership with several community partners on this project, working hand-in-hand with the County health department and Piedmont Health Services,” Strickler said. “Our staff knows that Chatham Hospital is on the cutting edge with this project, and going against the national trend, so in some ways the eyes of the country are watching us.”

Chatham Hospital expects to deliver up to 120 babies during the first year, and increase that total over time. The five-bed Maternity Care Center is designed to meet all the needs of low-risk mothers and newborns.

Dr. Dana Iglesias is the Medical Director of the Maternity Care Center. She said the addition of this center will help Chatham Hospital better support local families and new mothers.

“Our Midwifery and Family Medicine Physician model is unique because we offer a family centered approach to mothers and families throughout their pregnancy, labor and birth,” Iglesias said. “The addition of maternity care will be another boost to our ongoing work at Chatham Hospital and provide much-needed care to our community.”

For more information on Chatham Hospital and its new maternity center, click here.

Lead photo courtesy of UNC Health.

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Chatham Hospital Opens Maternity Center, Delivers Babies After 28 Years

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