'It's taking a choice away from women and families'

A midwife has said that in her experience homebirth clients, including women using the free HSE service, mainly live in rural areas.

A midwife offering homebirths in the Mid-West said a proposal by the HSE to limit homebirths to people living within 30 minutes of a hospital would remove this option from most women in the region.

A recommendation on this from the HSE’s National Women Infants Health Programme is due to be discussed by the National Oversight Group for the HSE Homebirth service, the Irish Examiner previously reported.