A birth-choice action group yesterday called on the Southern Health Board to safeguard a home-birth pilot project which has been operating in Cork for the last two years.
The newly formed action group, Birthchoice Cork, criticised the Supreme Court decision this week which ruled women that who choose to give birth at home do not have the right to free maternity services.
According to the group the decision is an attack on the right of women to opt for a home birth, and it claims such a move could jeopardise the health and safety of both mother and baby.
"This move is an attempt by hospital consultants to limit the ability of independent midwives to operate, and to scare pregnant women into hospital," a group spokeswoman, Ms Caroline Corcoran, said. "Women have the right to decide where to give birth without being subjected to this kind of pressure, and they should not be forced to choose a hospital birth by economic necessity."
Families in Cork who had gone down the road of a home birth were satisfied with the services provided by the board under its pilot project, she added.
"The women availing of the project have been very happy with the continuity of care provided, as well as the family-centred approach, and we look forward to the evaluation report on the project," Ms Corcoran said.
"In view of its success, we are calling on the Southern Health Board to show their commitment to providing a vital alternative to hospital birth for those women who choose home birth, without discriminating against those who can't afford it."