Andrea Williams could go into labour at any minute, but with her due date only one day away she is feeling incredibly relieved because she finally knows she can give birth at her local hospital.
The Gladstone mum found out on Wednesday morning that it is likely she will not have to make the 100-kilometre drive up the highway to Rockhampton when she goes into labour.
"Just the ease of knowing that you're five minutes up the road from the hospital, rather than an hour and a half — it's a huge relief" she said.
Gladstone Hospital's maternity unit was placed on bypass last July due to a lack of obstetricians, meaning expectant parents had to travel to the neighbouring city of Rockhampton to give birth.
"It added a lot of additional stress to myself, my partner, and my family, having to try to get them to be available to look after our 15-month-old," Ms Williams said.
"Babies don't come on a time frame — you just never know when the date is going to be.
"For that time of your life, you just really don't need the extra stress.
"It's taken almost 12 months to get this turned around … it's definitely a good start."
'Step in the right direction'
Save Gladstone's Maternity Ward group member Jemma Manwaring has been fighting to end the bypass since its introduction.
She welcomed the partial return of birthing services as a step in the right direction, but said there was still a level of frustration because only those identified as low-risk births could occur, post 37 weeks, with inductions unavailable.
"For those who have been living this uncertainty for quite some time, it will feel like another lifetime of waiting," Ms Manwaring said.
She said she would continue campaigning to have full services restored in Gladstone, and in Biloela, which remain on bypass.
Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service chief executive Emma McCahon said the hospital was aiming to go back to full birthing services in June, but the plan depended on the recruitment of two obstetric specialists.
Ms Manwaring said the broader issue of deteriorating maternity services some regional areas of the state, as well as staff shortages, still needed to be addressed.
"We need to remember that it wasn't that long ago that there was a massive walkout from Rockhampton," she said.
"That can't be ignored, just because Gladsome has been [somewhat] fixed."
Dr McCahon said there was a lot of work to do to make maternity services "safe and sustainable", but it was going to take while to find all the answers.
She was not able to confirm when the bypass would end in Biloela.
