Sir, - I find the anonymity of the author of the home birth feature(The Irish Times, February 9th) somewhat curious. Does your paper intend to make a practice of offering such facilities to the angry, the frustrated and the disappointed to "have a go" at identifiable targets?
I was born at home in Clonboniff, west Offaly, in the winter of 1963 and last summer I had the joy of assisting the birth of my son Neimhin here in Dublin 7. I am not a midwife nor an obstetrician so my "credentials" on this subject rest solely on the fact that I am a being who has experienced certain things and formed certain impressions.
I have a great admiration for the achievements of the current medical orthodoxies, including obstetrics, but still, when our first son John was born safely and well at the Rotunda in October 1994 after a 22-hour labour, my partner decided with my whole-hearted agreement that, barring medical emergencies, hospital birthing simply wasn't for us.
I am saddened and somewhat mystified by the experiences of your correspondent and his partner as related. In our case, we had as it turned out, some 30 months to prepare, mentally, spiritually (and physically!) for our home birth and it took every day of it. We had the services of a domiciliary midwife, Kate Spillane, who was the fulcrum of the experience up to the moment of the birth itself, and who remained a strength and support to us in the fortnight after. In many ways, our faith and trust in Kate became synonymous with our commitment to the home-birth option.
Please let no-one be turned off the possibility of home birth by a rare anonymous column, albeit in a distinguished newspaper. There's more to these things than meets the eye! - Yours, etc.,
Des Gunning,
Orchard Terrace, Grangegorman, Dublin 7.