Burden too great on midwives at home births

The burden of responsibility on midwives when assisting at home births is too great for them to be on their own, a coroner has said.

Coroner John O’Dwyer called for changes to ensure no midwives deal single-handedly with home deliveries.

“The load that midwives carry is, in my view, inordinate,” he said. “Changes should be made so that no midwives go out [to carry out a home delivery] on their own.”