East Iceland Health
Pregnancy and childbirth
Midwives provide antenatal care, education, acupuncture, births, postpartum care and home care in East Iceland.
At the beginning of pregnancy, you can get phone time with a midwife who reviews things such as diet during pregnancy and prenatal screenings. A midwife can refer women who need sonar screening.
Sonograms are carried out in
Neskaupstaðir
Egilsstaðir
Please note that a referral from you doctor or midwife is required.
The Maternity ward is located in Neskaupstaður. Four midwives attend to admissions for problems during pregnancy, obstetrics, and postpartum and assist with breastfeeding problems such as blockages, infections, etc. In case of difficulties in the perinatal period, the obstetricians at Akureyri Hospital and the high-risk antenatal care units at Landspítali are consulted and collaborated with obstetricians. The safety of mother and child is always paramount.
We welcome all healthy women who are pregnant with a normal pregnancy to our birth. We offer a variety of treatments for pain relief during labour, such as bathing, acupuncture, cheerful air and epidural anesthesia. If problems arise during childbirth, the birth can be completed by a suction clock or a caesarean section.
We welcome people to visit the maternity ward and to see the facilities there. At the beginning of 2017 the ward was renovated and a bath has been opened in a new maternity clinic. The ward has two bed-and-breakfasts and emphasises the family's unique place of residence. One of the rooms has been renovated and is equipped with a cot, while the other has an electric bed for mothers who need it, such as after a caesarean section. The post-natal period emphasises the child's day-to-day co-habitation with both parents, so spouses are invited to stay for a small fee if the cot allows. The midwives of the unit emphasize on supporting the family throughout the childbirth process from the first weeks of pregnancy to the end of birth.
Visiting times are primarily in consultation with the new parents. It is important that the family is able to have privacy with a new individual and also to rest.
If the family has to travel farther and even await birth in Neskaupstaður, every effort is made to assist people in finding an apartment for a small fee.
Most midwives administer acupuncture during pregnancy, but also during and after delivery.
Acupuncture is generally recognised as a treatment for pain, and nausea and to increase external blood flow, but it helps most people they test. Acupuncture stimulates the body to produce its own pain relief system and improves general health and well-being.
The main reasons why women in childbearing experience acupuncture:
nausea
pelvic or bio-bone pain
insomnia
oedema
anxiety and agitation
restless legs syndrome
numbness of the hands
Many women also get acupuncture in birth preparation.
Please contact your local midwife at your healthcare centre for further information.
The first time is free, but each time is 1000 ISK after that.