Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital is in the midst of a baby boom. While the summer months are typically busier for labour and delivery staff, this summer appears to be different.
“It has been really extremely challenging and busy because we’ve had sustained periods of higher acuity and activity,” said neonatologist Dr. Sowjanya Sivakoti, who works in the Stollery neonatal intensive care unit at the Royal Alex.
Between May and July 2026, 1,720 babies were born at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women inside the Royal Alex — that’s nearly 20 births a day.
Of those, there have been 61 sets of twins and four sets of triplets.
“Sometimes we are steady and then we have like, four or five patients coming in and labouring and delivering babies. Sometimes we have five babies in one hour,” Fernanda Fernandes told Global News.
The labour and delivery nurse has been on the unit for two years.
“When I started, they did tell me it was a busy unit — but I had no idea how busy it was,” she said. “We come to work very excited and we’re always wanting to make sure our patients feel safe and that we can provide the best care possible here.”
Dr. Sivakoti believes an increase in fertility drug usage may be playing a role in the number of multiples that have been born at the Lois Hole.
Get weekly health news
Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.
More births also translate to more trips to the NICU — especially when multiples are involved.
“They are tiny, some as little as 500 grams or even smaller,” Sivakoti said. “That ends up requiring a lot of intensive support in terms of their breathing, their circulation, their feeding, nutrition, and other developmental needs.”
Sivakoti said staff at the NICU work as a team — from nurses and doctors to dietitians, respiratory therapists and pharmacists. She said the team has pulled together despite summer staffing challenges.
“Despite the busyness, [the] overwhelming, exhaustion and tiredness, each member of the team has stepped up so that the care for our tiny residents of Alberta is not compromised and they receive the best care,” Dr. Sivakoi said.
Two of those patients are Rowan and Harrison Wiese, who were born in early May.
Their mom, Kasidy Wiese, was flown to Edmonton from their hometown of Westlock by STARS Air Ambulance when she started having contractions.
Her twin boys were delivered 14 weeks early via C-section, at the Royal Alex, at 25 weeks and five days of gestation.
“Honestly, it was just such a blur — it happened so fast,” Wiese said.
“We were sort of prepared, but not prepared for them to come in May — especially with their due date in August.”
Harrison and Rowan Wiese, due in August 2026, were born premature in May at the Lois Hole Hospital in Edmonton as part of a summer baby boom.
Provided: Kasidy Wiese
While the hospital seemed busy, the new mom said she didn’t believe the baby boom impacted the quality of care her family received.
“I hear the nurses and they’re like, ‘we’re at capacity, we are at capacity,’ but I’ve never seen that we’re waiting on something because they’re too busy,” Wiese said.
“If we do have a concern, people still do jump in there. They check it out immediately.”
After 107 days of calling the hospital home, on Friday the Wieses said goodbye to the staff that helped take care of them.
While it’s bittersweet, the family said they are excited for the next chapter.
“I think we’re ready to move on,” Wiese said. “Just go outside, take a walk, eventually take them to the golf course … just get them out of here.”
The Lois Hole Hospital for Women is located within the Royal Alexandra Hospital and provides care for women of all ages and in all stages of life.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.