Two-thirds of the regions report that the staffing in maternity care looks better or is unchanged compared to last summer. Just over a third report that it has become worse.
However, more than half of the regions do not have enough midwives to ensure staffing, according to a survey by TT.
Despite the difficult situation in some places, all 19 regions that responded to TT's survey have been able to grant four weeks of continuous leave to midwives who requested it.
Many regions have solved the staffing issue by hiring temporary midwives and pensioners, as well as offering bonuses to permanent employees who move their vacation and take extra shifts.
Despite this, more than half of the respondents report that there is a risk that women may be forced to travel to other regions to give birth this summer.
"Extremely stressful for the staff"
In Värmland, the staffing situation is much worse than last summer, partly because the region no longer uses temporary midwives, according to Charlotte Stenström, department head at the maternity ward in Region Värmland.
The maternity clinic, which is the only one in the region, manages to staff the rest of the year, but during the summer, they become understaffed during certain shifts.
It's obviously extremely stressful for the staff, but we never go below a threshold that would compromise medical safety, she says.
The consequences are that they may have to say no to planned inductions, and midwives will not be able to be as present with each woman giving birth.
Despite understaffing during certain shifts, Värmland women do not need to worry that they will not get a place.
The situation is much better
In Region Örebro, the staffing situation looks much better this summer compared to last year. One reason is that they have worked a lot on the issue in recent years, says Jennie Kilstam, unit manager at the maternity ward at Örebro University Hospital.
I think we're seeing the effect now. We've tried to look at the individuals in the workforce and see what their needs are in life. Some want to work straight weeks and others want to work weekends.
Kilstam believes that midwives are seeking other parts of healthcare because they do not like the working hours or scheduling at maternity clinics.
The regions' biggest challenge for maternity care during the summer months is staffing, according to the survey. Several regions describe small margins if something unexpected happens, and it is difficult to staff substitutes with the right competence.
The survey was sent to all 21 regions in Sweden, and all except Region Jönköping County and Region Blekinge responded.
The survey was sent out before the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) and the Swedish Association of Health Professionals (Vårdförbundet) reached a new agreement on June 28. At that time, nearly three-quarters of the respondents reported that the healthcare conflict had affected the region's maternity care.
