Fathers-to-be in Greymouth will no longer be able to stay overnight with their partners in the town's maternity ward.
About 400 babies a year are born at Grey Base Hospital.
The West Coast District Health Board is moving the maternity section from the seaward end of the Morice-McBrearty ward to another unit, due to disquiet over its resilience in an earthquake.
A DHB spokesperson says the new rooms are smaller and can no longer accommodate both partners overnight so fathers will need to make arrangements for themselves.
