Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the information. I raise this matter with him today on behalf of my female constituents in County Clare. He may be aware of the case of one particular lady, as I have previously written to him about her. She is due her second child in July and as he may be aware there are already extremely limited options for birthing in the county. She wrote me a letter and I am going to share some of it with the House this morning:

While trying to organise a homebirth it transpires that the midwives who previously served and wish to serve in our area, have been forced to private practice. This service, provided by the organisation Private Midwives, costs around €6,800. The national maternity strategy highlights choice as a key priority for low-risk women. It identifies homebirth as a choice. [As the Minister would know] An alongside birth centre does not exist in our area. Homebirth is the only alternative to the maternity hospital. This is a women’s healthcare prerogative that needs to be addressed.

While delivering her first child, active labour lasted less than one hour so she is a perfect candidate for a homebirth. The current reality is that my constituent can register as a patient in University Maternity Hospital Limerick, UMHL, our closest maternity hospital then pay privately for a homebirth and transfer to UMHL during labour, if needed. For her family to pay privately would put them in financial hardship. UMHL's suspension of homebirth services in the Limerick-Clare-north Tipperary region, leaves less privileged women in the area without access to a service that is provided by all other maternity hospitals.

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