The Bermuda Hospitals Board is to provide labour and delivery services to women after soaring malpractice insurance costs made private practice premiums too costly.

BHB is to employ four obstetricians to assist pregnant women in their final trimester.

The women will pay an extra $400 for gestation services a rise of 17 percent and be billed by the hospital rather than a private practice.

The change is deemed necessary to offset spiralling insurance premiums which could outprice obstetricians from practising in Bermuda, forcing women to travel overseas to give birth.

Previously, obstetricians practised privately with their own individual insurance through an overseas malpractice insurer.

Last year however, soaring premiums placed them in a dilemma either increase the cost of deliveries or cease practising altogether.

A BHB spokeswoman said: "If fees were hiked to cover the insurance increases, there was a danger that deliveries would become unaffordable for some families in Bermuda.

"If obstetricians ceased practising on-Island, Bermuda residents would be forced to go overseas for a basic delivery, or present to Emergency Department knowing there were no specialist obstetricians to assist.

"The Ministry of Health considered both options unacceptable and charged BHB and the local obstetricians to find a solution."

Dr. Donald Thomas, BHB Chief of Staff, said: "We felt strongly that the local obstetric service had to be preserved for the well-being of families in Bermuda. We cannot have parents-to-be unable to afford exorbitant fee rises to ensure a safe birth, or even worse, only having the option of going overseas.

"While the inclusion of the obstetric malpractice insurance in our group policy does increase our premiums, it is less than if the obstetricians were left on their own.

"In Bermuda, by having obstetricians employed by the hospital for delivering post-24 week gestation services, the fee will go up about 17 percent, or $400. This compares to the experience in the US, where fees for these services have recently gone up two or three times the original fee (ie. 200 to 300 percent) in response to spiralling medical malpractice premiums."

BHB has announced doctors Terrylynne Emery, Wendy Woods and Emma Robinson will join Chief of Obstetrics Dale Wilmot in providing gestation services. They will maintain their private practices for gynaecology services and pre-24th week obstetric care only.

Dr. Wilmot said: "This solution has ensured that Bermuda will continue to have a stable, professional obstetric service on-Island and that we can maintain Bermuda's very strong record of safety for mothers and babies.

"It is important to note that people will not experience a change in how services are delivered by the obstetricians, the change will effectively be in the billing process."

He added: "In the absence of this solution, obstetricians would have been forced to substantially increase their rates compared to the current fees charged. By joining BHB's insurance, the fee rise required to cover the increased premium for the hospital will be more affordable and will offset any future spiralling costs."