Mother who miscarried ‘hit hard’ by marketing ploy

A MAN whose wife received baby promotional material after she had suffered a miscarriage yesterday criticised firms who target mums-to-be.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Gerry Ryan Show, Derek Greenan said his wife, who does not wish to be named, had received material in the post from car manufacturers Volvo a couple of weeks after losing their child.

“It was a booklet and on the cover was a woman’s bump with her hand on her belly. There was a picture of a real baby scan. That really hit hard because the last scan we saw was our baby who had died.”

Volvo had also forwarded a sticker with “mum-to-be” on one side and “baby-on-board” on the other.

Mr Greenan, his wife, and their three daughters were on their way to the airport on April 4 last when his wife took ill.

“I brought her to the hospital and the scan showed the baby had been dead for two months,” Mr Greenan said. He was perplexed, he said, as to how Volvo had got hold of his wife’s details because neither of them has any recollection of signing on for promotional material at the time his wife first registered as a mum-to-be with the Coombe.

Mr Greenan contacted Volvo to see where it had obtained his wife’s details, but Volvo was unable to shed any light on the matter, he said. The Greenans decided to draw a line under it, but a couple of weeks ago, they received a communication from website eumom.com wishing Ms Greenan well in her pregnancy.

Mr Greenan said he contacted eumom.com and asked where it had obtained his wife’s details. He claimed the woman who spoke to him said the hospital had supplied the information.

However, eumom managing director of marketing Jim Kelleher yesterday said under no circumstances would the company solicit confidential patient information from the hospital nor would the hospital provide it. This included information on mothers who miscarried.

He said mums-to-be are offered the opportunity to register with eumom.com on their first visit to the hospital with the option of either posting off the registration card themselves or leaving it with hospital staff to forward.

Mr Kelleher said the hospitals did not receive any kickback for endorsing eumom.com, that they were happy to avail of the information service offered by the company on behalf of a substantial number of companies marketing baby products. He said eumom.com did sponsor hospital events occasionally.

A spokesperson for the Coombe said any new patient that registered was given a welcome pack which included information on eumom.com. He said the hospital never gave out patient information to a third party.

Volvo failed to respond to an Irish Examiner request for information on where the company obtained details of Mr Greenan’s wife.