Katia Eck also had to swallow one time when she heard of the shutdown. “This is catastrophic for the Döbeln district,” says Midwife Döbeln, who is also president of the Central Saxony District Association of the Saxon Midwives Association. The next maternity clinics are a few blocks away, and for expectant mothers, for example, it can be exhausting to drive several kilometers to the next clinic during labor.

For Katia Eck, the decision by Helios is a reflection of German health policy. For them, the trend continues to shut down what is not paying off. In their opinion, these are primarily small maternity clinics in rural areas.

Remember the hospital in Auchz. The Kulm clinic closed its maternity unit there in 2015 and, like Lessenig, it has reported a shortage of specialist staff. By that time, some girls and boys from the Döbeln region were also born in Aucatz.

Sächsische.de has compiled a list of clinics that are still welcome in the area, although no claim to completeness:

In Grimma

The Mulder Clinics in Grimma have one of the few so-called delivery rooms run by midwives in Saxony and abroad. Ten independent midwives are organizing the process there in cooperation with the doctors and nursing staff working in the clinic.

Last year, women from Grimma’s Döbeln district gave birth. “In the past few days, we have occasionally received registrations of births from Licensing,” a clinic spokeswoman, Beatrix Hundt, said.

An average of 200 Grimma babies are born each year. According to Beatrix Hundt, the ability to make more deliveries is available: “We have a large team of birth attendants in both homes.”

The hospital in Wurzen is also one of the Muldental clinics.

Distance: 41 km * (32 minutes) ** Phone: 03 437 93 784 402

In Freiberg

Last year, 674 girls and boys – including 14 pairs of twins – were born at the county hospital in Freiberg, including some from the Döbeln district. In the future there is more. “We have the capacity to do that,” confirms Ulrike Träger, Marketing Officer. This is locked in terms of personnel.

Parents should also feel safe. In the event of complications, specialists are available in the connected pediatrics neonatal clinic around the clock.

Distance: 35 km * (35 minutes) ** To call: 03 731 772641

In Mason

In Meissen, babies can be born in Elbland Clinics. There is also a children’s clinic in the maternity clinic, so specialists are on hand quickly in case of potential complications. “More patients could be admitted,” said Sylvia Derschel of Elblandkliniken’s Corporate and Communications Organization.

Distance: 40 km * (39 minutes) ** Phone: 03521 7432623

In Metwida

The birthing team at Metweda hospital, which is run by the district, has already felt that no more babies can be delivered in Lessenage. According to spokeswoman Inas Schreiber, mothers from the Lessing area have already gone to Metoyeda to give birth, and further inquiries have been received.

It could continue that way, says managing director Florian Close. “We really see our responsibility and want to use ‘Medicine of Central Saxony’ not only as a slogan, but also in reality.”

Parents will find three delivery rooms in Metwida, and a pediatric clinic with a focus on perinatal periods. Metwider obstetricians collaborate with Chemnitz Clinic. Newborns arrive there with a special car – an extensive baby carriage. About 500 babies were born in Mwaida in 2020.

Distance: 26 km * (30 minutes) ** Phone: 03 727 991 121

In Risa

Risa Hospital also operates the Elblandkliniken dispensary. There is also a pediatric clinic next to the maternity ward, which, according to clinic spokeswoman Sylvia Derschel, has the ability to accompany families from the Döbeln region during the birth.

Distance: 30 km * (34 minutes) ** To call: 03 525 753710

In Schkeuditz

The HELIOS Clinics in Lessenig and Checkioditz have been operating together as the ‘obstetric network’ since January 4, but according to Marketing Director Stefan Muslin, there has been a long-standing collaboration. Helios at Lessenage offers expectant mothers the birth at Shkoditz. They will be transported from home to Schkeuditz and back home using a “stork taxi”, which will likely be set up from the end of January.

Schkeuditz has three birthing rooms, which were renovated in 2018, and between 500 and 600 babies are born each year. According to Muslin, intensive pregnancy counseling is also offered. “This is especially important when gestational diabetes becomes more common,” a spokesperson for the clinic said.

Distance: 83 km * (57 minutes) ** Phone: 04 044 808 560

In Wurzen

The hospital in Wurzen is a Muldental hospital. The Department of Obstetrics is a department that focuses on the perinatal period. “We have the competence and expertise in caring for high-risk pregnancies and sick newborns,” said spokeswoman Beatrix Hundt. There is always a pediatrician or neonatologist (neonatologist) always on site.

Distance: 53 km * (44 minutes) ** Phone: 03 437 93783402

Note: * / ** The shortest path between the clinics and Obermarkt in Döbeln is given as the default starting point in addition to the travel times calculated by car.

Read more local news from Döbeln and central Saxony here.