Overdue pregnant woman in maternity protest

AN OVERDUE pregnant woman who fears she will give birth for a second time in transit to a Dublin maternity hospital led a march yesterday in protest over the lack of maternity services in her area.

“This march is to highlight discrimination against Wicklow mothers,” said mother-of-three Laura O’Shea, whose last child 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 in Brittas Bay in Co Wicklow. Their nearest maternity service is the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street, Dublin - a 40-mile journey that can take up to two hours.