Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government contains a commitment to implement the national maternity strategy. One of the key elements of that strategy is to make the 20 week anomaly scan available in all maternity facilities. Currently it is only available in six. Alongside this, national guidelines are also due to be published. It is important that these scans are made available so that no parent is left in the situation in which a young mother found herself in Kerry recently. She gave birth to a baby who had a serious heart condition. Her baby was transferred to hospital in Dublin while she had to remain in Kerry.

Having just given birth she travelled to Dublin to be with her seriously ill baby. When her baby died, and the death was inevitable, she had to strap her child into a car seat to bring her dead baby home. Had she had a 20 week anomaly scan, which is considered fairly basic in most developed countries, that young mother could have made provision to spend the few days that she had with her beautiful baby girl. She could have said goodbye in a decent and dignified way surrounded by her family. When I say that this is important I really do mean it. These scans should be available to every pregnant woman in the State.

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