No Vacancy for Baby

(Wales, UK) Apparently, one pregnant woman arrived at the hospital during a four-hour window when the maternity unit was closed.

Sophie Jacobs, 22, was rushed to the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital when her waters broke. She was terrified for the health of her baby, which was not due for another six weeks.

But to her dismay, Miss Jacobs learned the maternity unit at the hospital was already full and she would have to be sent elsewhere.

Staff at the ward gave her a steroid injection to try to develop the baby's lungs and stop the labour. Others frantically phoned to try to find her a bed elsewhere with facilities for a premature baby.

She was devastated when she learned the nearest place was The Royal Gwent, in Newport, South Wales -- 96 miles away.

Miss Jacobs ultimately had a Caesarean section at the Newport hospital and gave birth to a son, Zachariah.

A spokesperson said that since the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital maternity ward is known to periodically close, Miss Jacobs should have better planned her conception and labor so as not to conflict with the hospital's schedule.

Actually, the hospital spokesperson said no such thing. I made it up.