The Southern District Health Board's decision to replace the birthing unit at Lumsden Maternity Centre with a maternal and child hub as part of a region-wide review of maternity services has been bitterly opposed by locals, who claimed it would see mothers give birth on the side of the road due to longer travel times.
Clutha Southland MP Hamish Walker yesterday wrote to Ms Ardern calling for full services to be reinstated at the maternity centre.
At her post-Cabinet press conference yesterday, the Prime Minister said she had reviewed the Lumsden situation last year, and would do so again following the emergency birth.
''This won't be the first time we have had a woman who has given birth in circumstances which were not what she planned, and I'm just pleased she is safe,'' Ms Ardern said.
''I am happy to again look at the make-up of services, but what led to this situation in the first place was women choosing to go elsewhere.''
Ms Ardern said her understanding was that Lumsden had not offered a full maternity service, which might have contributed to a drop in the number of mothers who used the service and hence it becoming a hub.
''I had a look at some of those issues ... because I was worried about access to service,'' she said.
''One of the things I recall seeing was that at Lumsden women weren't able to access a full service, and this was before any changes were made.
''For instance, epidurals were not available, so that may in part give some explanation as to why those numbers were decreasing.''
Carrie Adams, a director of Northern Southland Health Company, the charity which runs the Lumsden centre, said she was encouraged the Prime Minister had agreed to look at the centre's case again.
''Absolutely, because I think if you look at the antenatal results for our catchment we meet the threshold, so it is incumbent on the Government if they want to uphold the service coverage schedule.''
Mrs Adams said the centre had experienced a short-term drop in births two years ago due to uncertainty caused by restructuring, but birth numbers had bounced back to their earlier levels.
However, service provision was calculated on pregnancies, and in terms of pre- and post-birth care, Lumsden was a vital community facility, she said.
Parliament's health select committee is yet to make a decision on what to do with a 5000-signature petition from Mr Walker which calls for the Lumsden Maternity Centre to be saved.
