Live video has proven to be a valuable and effective tool in the maternity ward at Bærum Hospital in Vestre Viken, Norway. It enhances the sense of security for pregnant women and helps staff use resources more efficiently.
The Vestre Viken health region has introduced live video and Videolink in a maternity ward. With Videolink, staff can monitor the birth in real-time through video streamed from the pregnant woman's phone. Bærum Hospital has been testing Videolink in its maternity ward as part of a pilot project for the past 9 months, and the feedback has been clear:
"Videolink is here to stay. We use it frequently because it provides great support to pregnant women and their families, while also allowing us to allocate resources to those who need them most." says Kjersti L. O. Nordrum, Department Midwife at the Labor and Delivery Department at Bærum Hospital.
At Bærum Hospital, the video solution is used in a variety of situations. This includes when pregnant women call in for professional advice about their water breaking, sudden bleeding, or the onset of labor.
"As midwives, we often face unclear situations during phone assessments that are hard to evaluate. With video, we can quickly gauge the seriousness—like the amount of bleeding or how far labor has progressed - and decide whether the woman should stay home or come to the maternity ward." says Karina Hahn, midwife at the Labor and Delivery Department at Bærum Hospital
Karina Hahn highlights that the video tool helps them make better decisions for patients, and that pregnant women and their families find it very reassuring.
"We’ve found that it provides a great sense of security for the women. They feel reassured knowing that we can see their situation firsthand, which gives them peace of mind in what could otherwise be a stressful time."
Births don't always go as planned, and sometimes they happen faster than expected. One day, while Karina Hahn was on call, a worried husband called her as he rushed his wife to the labor ward. As her contractions intensified, it became clear they wouldn't make it in time. Using Videolink, Karina guided the husband through delivering the baby in the backseat of their car.
"It's one of those unforgettable moments where Videolink truly proved its value. I guided the father step-by-step over video until the ambulance arrived to take over. What started as a dramatic situation ended up as a success story."
Says Karina Hahn and continues:
"The couple was incredibly grateful and happy afterward. The father was surprised when he received the video link, but once I was on the call, he no longer felt alone. It provided him with a great sense of reassurance during an emergency situation."
"Whenever we can conduct an assessment via video and determine that the pregnant woman can safely stay at home and everything is normal, we save a consultation, along with valuable time and resources. This allows us to dedicate those resources to patients who actually need assistance," says department midwife Kjersti L. O. Nordrum
In addition to the department's own staff, it also saves the Dispatch center from unnecessary ambulance runs.
There is no doubt that the staff at Bærum Hospital's maternity ward can see the benefits of using video in their work:
"We will definitely continue to use this video solution. If it can help just one or two women, that’s enough for us. However, our experience shows that it assists many. We believe that other maternity wards can also benefit significantly from implementing this technology," says ward midwife Kjersti L. O. Nordrum