Home birth restrictions
Deputy Cairns criticised HSE advice that would severely restrict home births for women living far from maternity hospitals, especially in rural counties. The Minister of State said she would bring the concerns to the Health Minister and seek a written reply.
Back in May, when I raised the ongoing and non-evidence-based restrictions on water births, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, told me:
Our maternity system is not sufficiently midwife-led. I think it should be.
I agree with him. Last month, a HSE report with no input from midwives recommended limiting home births to women who live within 30 minutes of a maternity hospital. In effect, that would mean people in large swathes of west Cork, Kerry, Clare, Roscommon, Wicklow, Donegal and Monaghan, as well as substantial parts of Galway, Mayo, Tipperary and other rural areas would not be allowed by the State to have home births. The Midwives Association of Ireland strongly opposes this restriction. They point out that the most current evidence does not support the 30-minute distance restriction. This is only currently a recommendation from the HSE. It needs to be halted immediately. The Minister for Health needs to engage with the midwives organisation, patient advocates and others to develop an approach that is genuinely patient-centred.
