Women having babies in Ireland would like to see more midwifery-led care than is currently available, the results of a survey suggest.

According to the survey of almost 3,000 women, just 5% said that midwifery-led care was available to them. This type of care sees a midwife, rather than a doctor, being the lead health professional.

Currently, this type of care is limited to two midwifery-led units in Drogheda and Cavan, and via the DOMINO scheme in certain hospitals, including Cork University Maternity Hospital and the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin.

The survey found that among those who did not have midwifery-led care available to them in a past pregnancy, almost 25% said they would have liked to have had such a service. Furthermore, among those who currently did not have this type of care available to them, 55% said they would choose it if it were available.

The survey also found that almost all respondents felt that women should have the choice of attending a free-standing birth centre.

Birth centres are small maternity units that are usually staffed by midwives. They aim to offer a homely environment rather than a clinical one and are particularly good at supporting women who would like to have a birth with no medical interventions.

There are no such centres in Ireland, and just one unit in the entire country - the Coombe in Dublin - offers waterbirths.

Almost 60% of respondents said that they would choose a birth centre if it was available to them.

Meanwhile, among those who did not have a home birth service available to them, almost 20% said they would have liked to have such a service available.

The survey was carried out on behalf of AIMS (Association for Improvements in Maternity Services) Ireland and the findings were released to coincide with International Day of the Midwife (May 5).

According to AIMS Ireland chairperson, Krysia Lynch, women are now ‘starting to realise that they have very few choices in Ireland surrounding their care givers'.

"They are also realising that all the international best practice, evidence and research points to midwifery-led care in low-tech units as being the safest option for the vast majority of women and their babies.

"The Minister for Health recently announced the new steering group to advise on the development of a National Maternity Strategy. It is our hope that this new committee will look to the evidence rather than to the status quo to ensure that women in Ireland have access to a wide range of choices in childbirth and that true midwifery-led care in low-tech units be placed high on the agenda," she added.

For more information on AIMS Ireland, click here

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