AIMS Ireland statement on Waterford General Hospital vs Mother A in the High Court

In light of the High Court appeal by Waterford General Hospital to force a mother to undergo a Caesarean Section, AIMSI would like to make the following comments:

AIMSI cannot comment on the medical specifics of this case as they are unknown to us. Based on what was reported in the media these are some of our comments:

  1. She was 13 days over the hospital s estimated due date.. There have been many scan dating mistakes in the Irish Maternity Services, notably in the scan mis-diagnosis scandal of 2010.
  2. She disputed her due date but she was not listened to, which implies a lack of trust between the woman and her hospital carers. Some women have been forced to deliver based on scan dates as opposed to the woman’s own estimated due date, which have had catastrophic effects on their baby. (Notably in 2006 in OLOL). She was agreeing to have an elective section on Sunday or Monday when her partner returned.
  3. She agreed to an emergency section if there was any threat to her baby in the meantime.
  4. She was cooperating with the hospital because she attended this morning for a scan

We cannot presume to talk on behalf of the mother, we are only speculating on events. However what we do know is that

  1. This woman was without her partner for support
  2. Her case was brought to the High Court, which is the severest form of coercive action that could have been taken against her.
  3. There appears to have been no immediate distress to the baby
  4. The risk as reported in the media to both mother and baby appears to have been due to potential uterine rupture. Potential uterine rupture exists for every VBAC mother but in general these are reported as being between 0.2% – 1.5%.

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