Hiqa: Women rate midwife-led units and private obstetric care highest

In recent days, women, healthcare workers, and advocates have raised questions about what is being rolled out to replace private obstetric care in hospitals. File picture

Midwife-led units and private obstetric care are the two maternity hospital options that women rate the highest, according to health watchdog Hiqa — but neither is available to all women.

The gap between care options that women value and what is available comes amid renewed focus on maternity care in the wake of the controversy between the Rotunda maternity hospital and health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill over private care.