Soon-to-be mothers in 亚洲天堂 Lake still have to drive to other communities to have their babies due to the lack of a maternity program in town.

In 2014/15, Lakes District 亚洲天堂 wrote a series of stories describing the frustration, costs and risks that local families are exposed due to the lack of maternity services in 亚洲天堂 Lake.

Although the $55-million Lake District Hospital and Health Centre, which opened in February 2015, is equipped with a dedicated delivery room, the hospital lacks qualified staff to deliver babies, administer anesthesia, and perform emergency C-sections or other interventions in an operating room, if required.

When the new hospital opened, health minister Terry Lake said he hoped the new facility would help attract more health professionals to the area and that this would allow the hospital to offer services such as obstetrics.

鈥淲e鈥檒l be working with Northern Health on that strategy,鈥� he told Lakes District 亚洲天堂 in February 2015.

The new hospital has now been opened for over two years, and there鈥檚 still no clear sign that a maternity program will be implemented in 亚洲天堂 Lake in the near future.

According to Northern Health, the lack of health care professionals in the area is not the only - or even the main - reason 亚洲天堂 Lake still doesn鈥檛 offer maternity services.

鈥淟ow-risk obstetrical services in communities require strong partnerships between health professionals, the community, and pregnant women and their families; some communities face challenges providing these services safely,鈥� said Northern Health in a statement.

鈥淲hile that may be partly due to staffing challenges, it can also be due to the fact that clinicians are not comfortable providing services in the absence of higher care-level support such as emergency C-section capability, or there are too few births, which impacts the ability of staff to maintain skills and competencies.鈥�

鈥淣orthern Health recognizes that having expectant or pregnant mothers travel to give birth can be disruptive and inconvenient, but the ability to provide a safe, high quality, sustainable local service is our highest priority,鈥� continued the statement.

According to Northern Health, discussions have been ongoing with local clinicians regarding prospects for providing maternity services for low-risk births.

鈥淭his would require a strong commitment from them [clinicians] for this approach to obstetrical care to be successful.鈥�

Northern Health is also working on a two-day rural obstetrical education course for smaller communities that, if successful, could be offered in 亚洲天堂 Lake in the future.

鈥淚n the interim, Lakes District Hospital and clinicians in the community continue to provide pre and post-natal care to support mothers and their babies in 亚洲天堂 Lake,鈥� added Northern Health.

The Ministry of Health also released a statement saying "ensuring that the necessary supports are in place [for a maternity program] can be challenging for rural and remote regions of B.C. and throughout Canada."

鈥淚deally, we want women to have the option to give birth as close to their families and communities as possible; however, the ultimate goal is always for mothers and babies to receive the safest, highest level of care,鈥� said Lori Cascaden, a ministry spokesperson. 鈥淚n order to do this, a number of supports need to exist.鈥�

Cascaden said the ministry will continue to work with Northern Health, doctors and the local community on how they can support safe local maternity care in 亚洲天堂 Lake.