Public maternity services woeful, warns consultant

IRISH women are being forced to endure a “woeful” public maternity service, which has the lowest level of consultant obstetricians in the developed world, a leading consultant has warned.

Dr Gerry Burke said labour wards and ultra-sound departments are having difficulty coping with capacity and has called on the Government to improve maternity services as the birth rate continues to rise.

More than 64,000 babies were born here last year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office. But there are just 100 obstetricians, meaning one per 6,400 births in