From September 8 until November 13, those needing to give birth on the weekend in Portage la Prairie are being asked to go to Winnipeg.

According to a Facebook post issued by the Portage Clinic, the Portage District General Hospital Obstetrics unit will be closed on weekends from 12 p.m. Friday until Monday at 7:30 a.m.

The Clinic says that this will allow the remaining nursing resources to be deployed for full obstetrics coverage between the closure times, and the Portage Obstetrics unit will be fully open for usual care from Mondays at 7:30 a.m. until Fridays at 12 p.m.

"If you are having pregnancy complications or believe you are in labour and not sure you can safely make it to St. Boniface General Hospital without delivering. We ask you to please present to the Portage Emergency Room," according to the social media statement.

The Clinic notes you should carry a copy of your Obstetrics Chart provided by your doctor to make this a more straightforward process.

Correction: In a previous version of this story, we referenced a social media post from the Portage Clinic that said: "During closure times, patients should proceed to St. Boniface General Hospital Triage for deliveries as Health Sciences Centre volumes have been too high to accommodate extra patients regularly." We have been informed by Shared Health that the decision to direct patients to St. Boniface instead of the HSC, is part of a strategy to balance out the number of patients at both sites. In fact, if St. Boniface cannot accept a patient for whatever reason, HSC will be able to accept the out-of-town patient.

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