The first monthly safety statements published for all 19 of the country’s maternity units show widely differing levels of births by caesarian section as well as perinatal mortality rates.

A baby’s death has resulted in “extremely helpful” recommendations, a hospital chief said yesterday.

The first baby of the New Year took nearly two days to arrive, his proud mother has revealed.

Politicians ignored problems in maternity hospitals for years, a medical expert has told the Oireachtas health committee.

Almost €60m has been spent on the new National Children’s Hospital which has yet to be built, it emerged yesterday.

Psychiatrist says two studies on Irish drinking levels conducted 10 years apart ‘are telling same story’

A 12-year-old boy who suffered catastrophic injuries in the minutes after his birth at the Coombe Women’s Hospital in Dublin has settled his High Court damages action with a final payment of €8.5m.

Irish mums have been urged take a leaf out of celebrity mums’ diet books and get exercising quickly as a study reveals they are piling on the pounds with each pregnancy.

Expectant mothers are being urged to take folic acid after a worrying rise in congenital disorders linked to a deficiency of the diet supplement.

One in six expectant mothers are obese, while one in 50 are morbidly obese, according to leading obstetrician.

One of the country’s leading maternity hospitals is potentially putting vulnerable patients’ health at risk due to ongoing hygiene problems on its wards.

No maternity hospital or unit in the country has enough midwives for safe baby care, according a survey by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

THREE weeks ago, I attended a gathering of doctors and researchers at the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital and UCD’s Centre for Human Reproduction.

A leading maternity hospital is reviewing the quality of food it gives mothers after admitting some patient meals are “unacceptable”.

Bringing your new twin babies home from hospital to meet their 13-month-old sister is normally a cause for celebration, but for Gerard Martin, whose partner died during childbirth, it was heartbreaking.

The €650m cost for the long-delayed national children’s hospital could be halved if the facility was built at the Coombe instead of the Mater, it has been claimed.

In relation to a site for the new children’s hospital, Health Minister James Reilly said “everything is on the table”. Here are the current options facing the group tasked with identifying a location.

THE property developer who has offered to build Ireland’s children’s hospital on a non-profit basis has called for a reassessment of the decision to build the much-needed facility at the controversial Mater site in Dublin.

THE Celtic Tiger didn’t just make us rich, it also made us fat, according to a study by the agricultural research institute, Teagasc.

FOUR out of 10 mothers are overweight, a major study just published by one of the country’s largest maternity hospitals reveals.

A SHARP rise in the number of women giving birth by caesarean section could lead to an increased risk of complications during birth resulting in a hysterectomy, a leading professor of obstetrics and gynaecology has warned.

THREE landmark maternity hospitals will eventually close as part of a major reconfiguration of Dublin’s maternity services.

ALMOST a third of pregnancies are unplanned, one of the biggest and busiest maternity hospitals in the country has revealed.