Pregnant woman without doctor ‘not the norm’ in Nova Scotia: health minister
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s health minister is sidestepping questions about whether he thinks it’s acceptable that a Cape Breton woman who is halfway through her pregnancy still doesn’t have a family doctor.
Kirsten DeJong, who moved to Boularderie, N.S., from Ontario in 2015, said Thursday that she now has an appointment with an obstetrician at the end of the month, but only after months of phone calls to nurse practitioners, clinics and doctor’s offices.
“I get there’s a shortage, but come on. We’re in Canada and I’m pregnant,” said the 32-year-old woman.
“The biggest thing when you get pregnant is you want that confirmation. You want to hear the heartbeat. You want to see the baby. You want something. I haven’t been able to get that.”