Midwives about the birth crisis in Stockholm County: "We are forced to work 16 hours in a row"

Already in May, it was clear that it would be a tough summer in childbirth, as many clinics had workouts that were not covered.

- We quickly realized that we cannot refer women to other childbirth clinics in the county because it is full everywhere, says Ia Jeppson, who has worked as a midwife in the Stockholm region for 13 years.

Last week, nearly 600 children were born in Stockholm County - a record week this summer.

Ia Jeppsson, who is also a trade unionist within the Stockholm Children's Association, testifies that the workload at the county's six childbirth clinics is now unreasonable.

- It is not uncommon for midwives to be ordered to work on double passes. It's about working 16 hours in a row without the possibility of proper break and that is unreasonable, she says.

Region Stockholm writes on its website that eleven women were sent to childbirth clinics outside the county in July, which is fewer than during the same period last year. But Ia Jeppsson thinks the statistics are misleading.

"According to our statistics for May, June and July, around 300 women have had to give birth to children in clinics that were actually full because they couldn't be referred anywhere else," says Ia Jeppsson and continues:

- In the past summers, Södertälje Hospital has been able to relieve the Stockholm clinics, but this year they have also been full.

When the births are forced to receive more patients than there are resources for, patient safety is affected, says Ia Jeppsson.

- We run between several different women at the same time and, of course, you cannot maintain good care in that way.