I don’t want to give birth in transit again, says Laura

JUST 11 days before her fourth child is due, this 31-year-old woman believes she is facing into giving birth without any kind of medical care.

Laura O’Shea, from Wicklow, spent 27 hours in labour with her five-year-old Eaimhín, two hours with her three-year-old Elisé while her third, one-year-old Conall, was born just 40 minutes after her contractions started, as she sped to Dublin in the back of her husband’s car.

Laura and her husband Barry live at Brittas Bay in Co Wicklow. Their nearest maternity service is the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street in Dublin - a 40-mile journey that can take up to two hours.