Sir, - We are proud to be part of the Community Midwifery Pilot Scheme being offered by the Eastern Health Board through the National Maternity Hospital. The scheme offers more choice for women by providing skilled midwifery managed care for low-risk pregnant women planning to have their babies either at home, or in hospital with low-tech care, early discharge and continued care in the community.
Dr Niall O'Brien (September 6th) is justified in his concern for the rights of the new-born. The safety of both mother and child is our priority too. We as health professionals could never countenance supporting a mother's choice of a home birth if it in any way jeopardised her or her baby's health and safety. However, research has shown that for a normal, healthy, woman, home birth can be a safe alternative to hospital birth for both her and her baby.
We feel privileged to assist women who choose the option to avail of our care, but in the case of home births we apply strict inclusion/exclusion criteria to ensure a high degree of safety. We and the parents in our care agree beforehand that emergency transfer to hospital may be necessary if unforeseen complications arise.
We would like to thank the families who have chosen our service for their support and positive feedback. - Yours, etc.
Margaret Hanahoe, Valerie Seymour, Diana Powell, Majella Dempsey, Clair Callaghan, Clodagh Manning, Carmel Cunnie, Barbara Folan, Community Midwives, National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, Dublin 2.