AIMS IrelandWomen in Ireland call for the midwife. #WMTY2014
MAY 5th 2015
For immediate release 5th May 2015
Contact Krysia Lynch 0877543751
Email: Chair@aimsireland.com
www.aismireland.ie
On May 5th to celebrate the International Day of the Midwife AIMS Ireland will release the results of its survey associated with choices and care givers in childbirth. The survey filled in by nearly 3,000 women in 2014 shows that the desire for midwifery led care amongst maternity care service users in Ireland is much higher than the current provision of such care.
KEY STATISTICS ARE:
Current availability of midwifery led care
Only 5.5% of respondents stated that midwifery led care was currently available to them.
Desire for midwifery led care
Of those that did not have midwifery care available, 24.8% said they would like to have a midwifery led service (on the lines of MLU/ DOMINO) available to them
Of those that did not currently have midwifery led care available, 55.5% said they would choose midwifery led service (on lines of MLU/ DOMINO) if it was available to them
Desire for homebirth services
Of those that did not currently have a homebirth service available to them, 19.7% said they would like to have homebirth service available to them.
Desire for birth centres
91.7% of respondents said that women in general should have the choice of a free standing birth centre
58.5% of respondents said that they would personally choose a free standing birth centre if it were available
Desire for community based midwifery led care
90.3% of respondents said that women in general should have the choice of community based midwifery led care
42.6% of respondents said they would personally choose community based midwifery led care if it were available to them
Chair of Aims Ireland Krysia Lynch commented “Women are 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.”
Lynch continued “The Minister of Health has just 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.”
Click here for the full study http://aimsireland.ie/care-choices/
ENDS
BOILERPLATE
At present, midwifery led care is limited to two midwifery led units in OLOL and Cavan, and also to DOMINO care within CUMH, The Coombe and the NMH. There are no Birth Centres in Ireland and only one unit, The Coombe, currently offers waterbirths.The maternity care policy until now has been to favour large units and obstetric led care for both low and high risk women.
Midwifery led care is defined as care where the midwife rather than a doctor is the lead professional
DOMINO (DOmiciliary IN Out) where women receive care from a team of midwives and will either birth at home or in a home from home room in a hospital and be discharged within 6-24 hours after birth
MLU (Midwifery Led Unit)
Community based midwifery led care where women receive their care and within the community; either within their own homes (eg postnatal care after being discharged from the hospital after 6 – 24 hours), or within a clinic in their own community where the midwife is the lead professional making decisions about care.