Notre-Dame Hospital’s Family Birth Unit shuts down

The Family Birth Unit at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Hospital is officially closed.

For several months, the lack of specialized obstetrics personnel prevented the hospital from maintaining even minimum services.

“Despite recruitment efforts, specialized personnel in this field are scarce, and we have not been able to fill enough positions to ensure a safe reopening,” read a statement from the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, which oversees the hospital.

Since other Montreal birth centres have the capacity to meet the current and future needs of Montreal’s population, and since the latest projections show that the decline in births, observed since the project began in 2017, is expected to continue until 2038, the centre has chosen to close its doors.

Establishments in Greater Montreal share specialized resources, and a reopening would risk weakening other birthing centres.

“This is a difficult decision to make, and one we did not want to make,” the statement continues. “However, we must ensure quality care, family safety, and sound management of public resources, as well as act with respect and transparency toward our teams, who have put their heart and soul into this project.”

According to La Presse, the unit was brand new, having opened in Feb. 2024, and construction had cost nearly $25 million.

Family services maintained

All families will be informed of the situation in the coming days.

The hospital’s medical and clinical team will continue to support families currently being treated at the Obstetrics Outpatient Clinic until the last deliveries scheduled for next April. All these families have already agreed on their new delivery location with their doctor. 

It will still be possible to request pregnancy monitoring at a CLSC, GMFU, or the Jeanne-Mance Birthing Center by submitting a request through our one-stop perinatal service. For full details, you can visit the CCSMTL website.