Montreal mother says freezing hospital room after childbirth should never happen

Annie Calamia says she was expecting a calm, comfortable recovery at Maissoneuve-Rosemont hospital, but instead felt like she stepped into a danger zone.

It was nearly a year ago, in the middle of winter, that just hours after giving birth, Annie Calamia was wheeled into a private postpartum room at the Maissoneuve-Rosemont hospital — one that she agreed to pay $176 for.

She says she was expecting a calm, comfortable recovery, but instead felt like she stepped into a danger zone.

“We got into the room and I said, ‘It’s freezing in here, I think the window’s open,'” said Calamia. “So my boyfriend went to the window, closed it and every time the wind blew, it blew the window open. So we said, ‘OK, I think it’s broken.'”

Calamia says she immediately raised concerns, flagging the issue to nurses and even a doctor.

She says she asked to be moved — even if it meant sharing a room — but was told the maternity ward was full.

“You don’t want to be in a room where you don’t feel safe. And that’s exactly what happened to us,” she said. “And I thought it was very shocking and it was a public health issue that they couldn’t provide that to women and to babies who are just born.”

After she was discharged, Calamia says she immediately began to take steps to contest the bill,  before even receiving it.

She was told that since she chose a private room and occupied it, she had to pay for it, she says. She contested the decision and even contacted the Quebec Ombudsman, without any success.