Fury over HSE moves to limit home births
WOMEN are more at risk of giving birth on the side of the road or without medical assistance under a ‘shocking’ recommendation from the HSE to limit home births to women who live within 30 minutes of a maternity hospital, it has been claimed.
The move is viewed as being particularly unfair to women in rural Ireland, with criticism of the proposal growing among
TDs, advocacy groups and healthcare experts.
Elke Hasner, a West Cork midwife of 30 years, worries that some women will choose to have a ‘freebirth’, meaning that they will give birth with no healthcare professional in attendance.
‘Some women might choose to freebirth as they opt for the next best option to have the baby on their own. As a midwife I would very much be afraid of that,’ she told the Irish Daily Mail.
She warned that there could be more ‘births before arrival’ (BBAs), where women go into labour before making it to the maternity ward. If the HSE does not have the home birth choice for all women, it might mean BBAs go up, and a lot of mothers may give birth at the side of the road.
‘We had around 120 BBAs within the last couple of years. It is neither safe nor advisable to do that,’ said Ms Hasner.
Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns told the Mail she had heard from many constituents who are concerned about the recommendation to limit home births.
She said: ‘It wasn’t until 2008 that the home birth service was well-established. So I guess the question is about women’s choices and if we want safe, legal home births or unsafe ones like before.’
The HSE’s recommendation means that women who live in rural areas would have little choice but to opt for a hospital birth.
Krysia Lynch, chair of the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services in Ireland, told the Mail that there has been no evidence to suggest that the 30minute radius is necessary.
She said: ‘If you’re sitting there in West Cork and it would take you two and a half hours to get to the hospital, you might be better that a midwife comes the second you think your labour starts instead of getting into the car.’
Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan, whose sister had four successful home births, urged Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to reconsider the recommendation in the Dáil on Tuesday. The Cork South-West TD told the Mail: ‘Women who live in regional Ireland and in more peripheral areas just don’t have the same rights as someone who lives in the city and that’s completely unfair.’
Ms Lynch added: ‘Not everybody can register for a home birth because they are very heavily screened every step of the way.
‘Women having home births have to sign up with the hospital. So the care is very integrated. Women have to go beforehand and get all their bloods taken and it all has to be stored on a hospital file. So if there is any reason for transfer, they’re already a patient within the hospital.’
‘I would be very much afraid’