First Child Born In Seyðisfjörður For 30 Years

The first child to be born in Seyðisfjörður for more than 30 years entered the world on January 20, Heimildin reports.

The birth was expected on February 3, with the child instead delivered prematurely by a doctor and a midwife to a family based in Seyðisfjörður. Due to weather conditions, the Fjarðarheiði mountain pass — which connects the town to Egilsstaðir — was impassable, and the family could not travel to the nearest birth centre.

When the mother’s labour began, the father contacted the local police, the Egilsstaðir hospital, and a Coast Guard patrol ship was on stand by in the event that a sudden transfer was needed to the Neskaupsstaður hospital.

Following the shutdown of birth services in Seyðisfjörður, they were temporarily moved to Egilsstaðir. Subsequently, Neskaupsstaður Regional Hospital took over as the area’s default medical facility for childbirths.

The distance between Seyðisfjörður and Neskaupsstaður is approximately 90 kilometres by car.

The child’s mother, Hildur Þórisdóttir, urges the new government to consider safe and viable transportation measures in the area, noting that the experience is yet another example of people’s lack of safety in East Iceland.

Both mother and child are well.