By Alesha Capone and Charlene Macaulay
As Wyndham’s population continues to boom, so does the number of babies being born to parents and families who call the area home.
Werribee Mercy Hospital is currently providing care to 3800 mothers a year.
A record 3781 babies, including 21 sets of twins, were born at Werribee Mercy in the 2015-16 financial year, with an almost even split of genders (52.2 per cent boys, 47.8 per cent girls).
That was up from 3711 bubs in 2015-16, 3144 in 2014-15 and 2739 in 2013-14.
Mercy Health health services chief executive Linda Mellors said the hospital was expecting to deliver, on average, 321 babies each month in 2017-18.
Adjunct Professor Mellors said Wyndham’s fast-growing population had resulted in greater demand for maternity services.
She said an eight-bed Critical Care Unit being built at Werribee Mercy, as part of an $85 million expansion, would provide additional care for maternity patients when it opened next year.
“Mercy Health continues to work with the Department of Health and Human Services regarding future service needs for the region,” Adjunct Professor Mellors said.
“We expect to increase our maternity and newborn services as our facilities are expanded in the future.”
In addition, the maternity section and special-care nursery of St Vincent’s Private Hospital Werribee is set to open on Monday (February 26).
To date, 50 women are booked in to have their babies delivered at the hospital between this month and September.
A spokeswoman said the first babies to be born at the hospital were expected to be delivered in March.
