A Langley, B.C. mother is home with her newborn after a traumatic birth, but her fight with the medical system is far from over.
Natasha Olausen is demanding compensation from Fraser Health for doula services, which she said the health authority had promised to pay for.
“To go through life-threatening events, and nearly have your children no longer have a mother due to somebody else’s error, and then having to deal with bureaucratic issues and given false, empty promises that create hope during an already vulnerable time, it’s awful,” Olausen told Global News.
On Feb. 17, her daughter, Penelope, came six weeks early and Olausen had an emergency C-section at Royal Columbian Hospital.
As Olausen’s health deteriorated, an ultrasound in early March revealed there were pieces of her placenta left behind inside her.
She underwent two surgeries at Langley Memorial Hospital to remove them.
Following the second procedure, Olauson said severe blood loss forced doctors to perform an emergency hysterectomy.
While she was recovering in the Intensive Care Unit and Penelope was about to be discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Olausen alleged hospital staff threatened to take her baby away.
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“Said that under no circumstances was I allowed to be alone with her, and so there had to be a 24/7 person with Penelope at all times, otherwise — because I was medically incapacitated – otherwise, social services would be called,” she said.
As a single mother with no family story, Olausen said she had few options.
“I’m in excruciating pain, and then worried my daughter is going to end up in the system,” she said.
Her friend, Yanique Lamers, said she heard that that conversation with the Langley Memorial Hospital staff.
“It’s so threatening. It was so extreme, and it was gross. You don’t do that to a new mom who just went through this massive trauma,” Lamers said.
Olausen hired doulas to ensure her infant would have round-the-clock care. Her hospital care team supported this.
Prior to being discharged from hospital, a social worker wrote, “24/7 doula services for an estimated period of four weeks are recommended by the treating physician.”
In mid-May, weeks after Olausen had already been discharged from hospital, she received a letter from Fraser Health, which reads in part, “Fraser Health Indigenous Health has agreed to provide financial support for the doula services you received while you were in hospital and up to $1,000 following your discharge home.”
Olausen said the invoice for doula services remains unpaid.
One of the doulas confirmed to Global News she is still owed thousands.
“That costs more than $1,000 a day, so to receive [that letter], despite what I was told, I was angry and confused and frustrated,” she said.
Olausen said based on how many days she needed help, the doulas are owed about $40,000.
Despite repeated requests for an interview, Fraser Health would not answer questions about why the entire invoice has not been paid and would not respond to allegations hospital staff had threatened to call social services, citing privacy.
It referred us to a statement that was sent on March 31, when Olausen was still in hospital.
“We are thoroughly reviewing this person’s care journey to understand how we can improve the patient experience for people in our care. This includes examining our internal processes to determine if refinements need to be made,” said Dr. Kirsten Niles, Regional Division Head of Obstetrics.
“They should be ashamed of themselves,” Olausen said. “Fraser Health really needs to do a lot better and they need to provide the services that they actually say that they’re going to, versus leaving people high and dry after experiencing catastrophic medical issues.”
After she was discharged from hospital, she said she hadn’t heard from Fraser Health, prompting her to reach out to Jordan’s Principle, an initiative which ensures First Nations children do not experience gaps or delays in accessing essential government services.
Olausen shared an email showing that doula services were initially approved for the period of March 11 to April 11at $1,210.00 per day for a total of $37,510.00.
But weeks later, Indigenous Services Canada denied that funding.
Global News asked federal department why the funding was initially approved then denied, but it did not answer our questions.
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