Maternity choice group calls for protection of private care

The group — Our Maternity Choice Ireland — was formed in the wake of a sudden focus on the provision of public or private maternity care amid Sláintecare reforms. Picture: iStock

A group of mothers and mothers-to-be have called for private maternity care to be protected, saying women’s voices have been left out of the debate so far.

They have called on health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to act, saying plans to phase out private care from HSE hospitals were not discussed with the public.

The group — Our Maternity Choice Ireland — was formed in the wake of a sudden focus on this part of the Sláintecare reforms in recent weeks.

A petition they launched online on Uplift last week has almost 2,500 signatures supporting their call.

“Many of us hope to expand our families and believe we, and all women, should have the choice to select the care that is right for us for future pregnancies,” a spokeswoman said.

“We have come together because of our shared belief that the women of Ireland deserve better. In a debate that has largely centred on contracts and consultants, we believe that women’s voices and experiences are missing and our concerns are not being heard.”

They asked not to be named, saying: “We are mums and mums-to-be from different parts of Ireland, with a range of backgrounds.

“We are not obstetricians, insurers, or others with any vested or professional interest in this issue.”

She said some used private obstetric care following “difficult fertility journeys, miscarriage, neonatal loss, previous birth trauma, complex medical histories, or significant pregnancy-related anxiety”.

Continuity of care in seeing the same faces during pregnancy is central, she added. She described “very little awareness” among the women of the Sláintecare plans up to now.

“We believe that reforms of this magnitude, which fundamentally change women’s healthcare choices, should have been accompanied by a much greater public information campaign,” she said.

She pointed out these reforms were made against a backdrop of the 2018 referendum repealing the Eighth Amendment and the Cervical Check controversy, saying both issues had led to State pledges to improve women’s healthcare.

“We are not aware of any Government assurances that an equivalent model of care to private maternity care will be made available to all pregnant women, based on preference,” the spokeswoman said.

They argue that removing private maternity care while private healthcare for other conditions still exists is applying “a double standard” to women.

• Niamh Griffin, Health Correspondent