Women protest outside Dáil at lack of facilities for homebirths and water births

Irish Birth Movement protest Jenni Garvey outside Leinster House. Pictures: Sam Boal/Collins 

More waterbirths, more homebirths, and keeping private maternity care were among the calls at a maternity choices protest outside the Dáil.

One woman described having an unplanned free birth at home without medical assistance after she struggled to access other maternity options. 

The Irish Birth Movement called for promises made almost a decade ago in the national maternity strategy to be acted on urgently.

It also organised a petition signed by 2,786 people urging the health minister to take action.

Jenni Garvey travelled from Sligo to protest the limited access to homebirth. She wanted this option for her third child after having homebirths in Canada and Australia.

However, the HSE does not have community midwives there, and a private service was booked out. It has since closed.

“I was very disappointed because I had two homebirths before, so I was looking forward to that,” she said.

Midwife Chiara Virgillito at the protest.

She planned instead to labour at home and make the 10-minute drive to the hospital as late as possible.

“I didn’t necessarily want to have an unassisted birth at home, I was in the hospital system and seeing midwives,” she said. “I knew I wanted to stay at home for as long as possible.” 

Her daughter was born at home. However, she said: “It was a lot of pressure, a lot of stress on me. I would have preferred to have a midwife on call, but that’s what happened.” 

Midwife Chiara Virgillito is on maternity leave from her job at the Rotunda Maternity Hospital.

“I’m here because I’m so passionate about choice, whatever that looks like for people,” she said.

This includes, she said, “the midwifery-led model in the community or attached to the hospital or private care as well".

She noted concerns private care will be phased out as part of the HSE’s move away from mixing private and public care in its hospitals.

Limerick-based midwife Sandra Healy speaks to reporters.

Sandra Healy, Limerick-based midwife and co-founder of the group, said “so little” of the strategy was in place.

It promised birth centres, meaning low-tech birth rooms offering water births and other supports.

“We were promised birth centres for every unit in Ireland. We have got no further with that,” she said.

“Homebirth has actually decreased, and the access to homebirth has decreased for many women around the country. It’s like a postcode lottery in that there are huge pockets of Ireland that have no access to homebirth.” 

There are still only two midwifery-led hospital maternity units, the same two which existed before the strategy, she added.

She said of the HSE and Government: “I feel they’re not listening. I think people maybe don’t understand how important choice is, and that’s the message we’re trying to get out."