Agency’s concern over high level of secret pregnancies

SOME women are still too ashamed to admit they are pregnant outside of a relationship and conceal the pregnancy right up to the birth in some cases.

The Crisis Pregnancy Agency’s (CPA) annual report shows that one in every 403 births at rural hospitals is kept secret while one in 625 in Dublin is hidden.

In some extreme cases, the woman herself refuses to recognise the fact that she is pregnant up until labour pains force her to go to the hospital.

The agency has warned women that concealing their pregnancy can lead to problems when they do eventually seek medical attention.

The agency’s chairwoman Katharine Bulbulia said the agency was developing guidelines for medical workers when dealing with a concealed pregnancy.

Ms Bulbulia said women still felt there was a strong social stigma attached to becoming pregnant outside of a relationship.

While the practice of concealing a pregnancy is more prevalent in younger women the agency is aware of a number of extreme cases where the women were in their 40s.

“These guidelines will assist health professional in dealing with what is, unfortunately, not an uncommon situation, and set standards to ensure that women who conceal pregnancy are given support and assistance,” she said.

Ms Bulbulia pointed out that a woman who conceals her pregnancy presented herself for antenatal care late into pregnancy without informing her social network about her situation.

The agency, together with the National Disability Authority, are planning a set of guidelines for crisis pregnancy counsellors and doctors so that women with an intellectual disability experiencing a crisis pregnancy will be better supported.

Ms Bulbulia said existing data suggests that disabled women in Ireland are receiving less than adequate preventative health and social work services in comparison to other European countries.

“Women with intellectual disabilities are among those least likely to receive quality prenatal care, prompting an urgent need to address their vulnerable status,” she said.

Crisis Pregnancy Agency director Caroline Spillane stressed the importance of making counselling accessible to all women who experience a crisis pregnancy.

Since the agency was established in 2001, crisis pregnancy counselling services have been expanded nationally by almost 50%. Crisis pregnancy counselling is now available at more than 50 centres in 27 locations throughout

Ireland.

The agency provides more than €4 million annually to services to help reduce crisis pregnancy and to support young parents.

Around 75% of women are aware of the agency’s Positive Options campaign. Last year the website had more than 32,000 visits, while 67,000 text messages were received requesting counselling information.

The CPA remains concerned that the number of women who receive counselling following an abortion is below the international norm.

“We would want women wishing to avail of the services to know that they are free of charge, non-judgmental and nationwide,” said Ms Spillane.

Health Minister Mary Harney said the success of the agency in reducing the number of crisis pregnancies in such a short period was very encouraging.