Covid boosts homebirth demand as women avoid hospitals 

Marah Weissbrich-Maloney with her nine-month-old son Jacob, who was born at home in Killaloe, Co Clare. Picture: Dan Linehan

The demand for homebirths has gone up by more than a third during the pandemic, as many women opt to avoid hospitals.

The National Homebirth Service numbers increased from 272 in 2019 to 354 last year, across all HSE regions.