Mother denied Irish home birth to have baby in UK

An expectant mother who lost her legal battle with the HSE to be allowed a home birth is going to have her baby abroad.

Aja Teehan intends taking the boat to Britain in three weeks’ time to prepare for the birth of her second child in a rented house with the aid of a UK-approved midwife.

She also faces a €10,000 legal bill, but learned yesterday she will not be liable for the HSE’s costs.

“I have been struggling to put a birth plan in place because we couldn’t make plans while the court case was on, so we’re under serious time pressure, but we are quite close to having the arrangements confirmed,” said Ms Teehan.

Ms Teehan, whose baby is due in mid-October, was ruled ineligible for a midwife-assisted home birth because she had her first child by caesarean section six years ago.

HSE policy excludes women from home births for a variety of reasons, including previous delivery history, age, weight, and certain medical conditions. The HSE is the only provider of insurance to midwives, so Ms Teehan could not engage one privately to assist her.

The university lecturer from Kilkenny sought a judicial review of that policy, arguing its blanket application was unjust, that women should be individually assessed, and their preferences should be respected.

She lost her case last month when the High Court ruled the HSE was justified in applying the policy to minimise risk and associated insurance costs.

The case was back in court yesterday when Ms Teehan learned she will be spared the burden of having to pay costs for the HSE and Minister for Health in opposing her.

Judge Iseult O’Malley said the case centred on a matter of public interest and Ms Teehan should be exempted from paying the defendants’ costs. However, she faces a personal legal bill of just over €10,000 and has begun a fundraising campaign to help her clear the debt.

In the meantime, she said she, her husband, and their daughter would try to make the arrival of the new addition to their family as close to ideal as possible in a country where women’s maternity rights were better respected.

“The evidence shows that part of the protective effect of labour in the home is to do with the woman feeling safe and feeling private and feeling protected,” she said.

“Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to exploit that protective effect in my actual home, but we’re going to make the rented house as homely as possible.”

Fantastic that @AjaTeehan won't have to pay HSE costs - case is so important in trying to end paternalistic control of childbirth. #ajavhse

— Seána Talbot (@SeanaTalbot) September 6, 2013

"@AIMSIreland: Next generation of @AIMSIreland !!! #BirthRights #ajavhse #hse pic.twitter.com/Mp57W5Lgp6" great picture!

— Karen Reid (@rillamyrilla) August 17, 2013