Non-national baby boom ‘pushes system to the brink’

WOMEN arriving to Ireland on the verge of giving birth are “a tragedy waiting to happen”, according to the master of one of the country’s largest maternity hospitals.

Births to non-nationals have more than doubled in the last three years and as many as 15% of non-national expectant mums turn up either in labour or just 10 days before giving birth, new figures show.

Master of Maternity at the Rotunda Hospital’s Dr Michael Geary said some women are travelling from abroad very late in their pregnancy. He said women from outside of Ireland are landing at our ports and airports and heading straight for hospital. “It’s all just a tragedy waiting to happen,” he said.