{"id":674187,"date":"2026-09-05T17:15:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T17:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/674187\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T17:15:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T17:15:32","slug":"irish-womens-birth-stories-women-are-so-vulnerable-when-theyre-pregnant-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/674187\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish women\u2019s birth stories: \u2018Women are so vulnerable when they\u2019re pregnant\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Aoife O\u2019Connell first became pregnant<\/a> she knew she wanted continuity of care. She wanted to see the same medical professionals at appointments, during her labour and the birth of her child, and when she had her newborn in her hands. It was at this point she learned about a form of midwifery-led care called Domiciliary In and Out. <\/p>\n

More commonly known as Domino, it is when a consistent team of midwives support women before, during and after birth, visiting the new mothers at home after an early discharge from hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose Domino because I could attend appointments close to home,\u201d she says. \u201cThe appointments were always on time and five minutes from my house. The dedicated phone line was very useful, especially on a first pregnancy when everything was new.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wicklow woman says she could not believe how wonderful the service was.<\/p>\n

As someone who loves baths, she was \u201cso grateful\u201d she was able to use a birthing pool while in the hospital, adding that seeing the same faces was \u201cso comforting\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was quite calming and relaxing. It felt like you were in a different space and it [the birthing pool] made the pain much more manageable for me,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell describes giving birth as \u201call encompassing\u201d. When she had complications in the latter stage of labour, she was \u201cnever concerned\u201d, even when her baby was brought to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).<\/p>\n

\"AoifeAoife O’Connell used a birthing pool in hospital: ‘It was quite calming and relaxing.’ Photograph: Enda O’Dowd <\/p>\n

\u201cThe midwives were very calm and they were very encouraging. He wasn\u2019t really breathing so he had to go to the NICU but again the midwives were really calm. They were clear there was an issue but they were also very clear that it was okay and it was being dealt with,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tried to find me a private room so I wasn\u2019t around babies and mothers because the baby wasn\u2019t with me. They got me a wheelchair and brought me down to the NICU. Overall, it was a really, really positive experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten years of Ireland\u2019s first maternity strategy: \u2018If we were grading ourselves, I\u2019d give us an 80\u2019\"KilianKilian McGrane, national programme director of the NWIHP. ‘Once upon a time, [a hospital staff member] left and they automatically got replaced. That\u2019s not the case any more.’ Photograph: Gareth Chaney\/Collins <\/p>\n

At the heart of Ireland\u2019s first maternity strategy, launched in 2016 in the wake of controversies and safety concerns, was a pledge to normalise birth, increase choice for women and standardise regional services.<\/p>\n

More than a decade later, as the strategy comes to a conclusion, the National Women and Infants Health Programme (NWIHP), which is responsible for its implementation, says a lot has changed in that time.<\/p>\n

Kilian McGrane, the NWIHP\u2019s national programme director, says there has been an investment of \u20ac80 million over the lifetime of the strategy, including funding for gynaecology and abortion, among other things.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are now things that weren\u2019t there. Individual units are no longer isolated, which is a hugely important thing. There are home-away-from-home rooms in all but five of the maternity units,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe model of care wasn\u2019t there a decade ago. The focus on quality and safety wasn\u2019t there a decade ago. The guidelines were there but not in the way it is now, and there had been no investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were grading ourselves, I\u2019d give us an 80. We\u2019re not claiming this is perfect. But what we are trying to say is there are very solid foundations in place now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Irish Times has spoken to more than 20 women about their experiences of maternity care in the State, many of whom spoke about being dismissed and experiencing difficulties in accessing supports.<\/p>\n

The words \u201cchoice\u201d and \u201ccontinuity of care\u201d were regularly included in conversations, largely sparked by the gradual removal of private maternity options in the State due to the roll-out of the public-only consultant contract. <\/p>\n

Private maternity care provided by public-contract consultants surfaced as an issue<\/a> earlier this summer when Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill<\/a> clashed with the board of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.<\/p>\n

The Minister threatened the hospital\u2019s funding and indemnity if it refused to comply with the terms of the public-only contract as consultants were still treating private care while on public contracts.<\/p>\n

The board of the hospital eventually backed down.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018I felt nobody had my back\u2019: What the Rotunda row says about public v private maternity careOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Already, two hospitals \u2013 Sligo University Hospital and Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise \u2013 have ceased private maternity care<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The diminishing availability of this option was something raised by many of the women who contacted The Irish Times. A large proportion of those who say they sought private care say they did this due to a history of miscarriage or infertility.<\/p>\n

They were nervous and fearful about the pregnancy, they say, and believed being a private patient would result in an increased number of scans and being able to see the same clinicians, without having to repeat their tales of loss to medics at each appointment.<\/p>\n

Not all of them had private health insurance. In some cases, they saved to pay for private care out of pocket because they felt so strongly about having continuity of care.<\/p>\n

Rebecca\u2019s story: \u2018I honestly don\u2019t know what I would\u2019ve done without my private consultant\u2019<\/p>\n

Rebecca, which is not her real name, opted for semi-private care for her first two pregnancies, despite having private health insurance. A blend of private and public care, semi-private allows women to recover in smaller wards after birth, but they may be seen by different doctors throughout their pregnancy.<\/p>\n

But when her second daughter was stillborn in May 2022, the trauma and grief of that loss led her to choose private care for her two subsequent pregnancies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so traumatic for us because, and I know it sounds silly, but I didn\u2019t know it could happen at such a late stage. We had our induction day scheduled for two days later. I thought there was no way [she could have been stillborn] because she was coming in two days,\u201d Rebecca says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was speaking to different people and doctors every time and every day. Once I left the hospital without my baby, I had not one person to contact or to listen to me, or try to explain to me what happened.\u201d <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Women have their say: Public care must improve \u2018dramatically\u2019 before private is phased outOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Because of the loss of her daughter, when she became pregnant with their third and fourth children, she had to be signed off from work early and began taking anxiety medication.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly don\u2019t know what I would have done without my private consultant, and how I would have got through those two subsequent pregnancies. From that day forward he was by our side every step of the way, and literally on call no matter what time of the day,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have as many appointments and scans as I wanted. I certainly wouldn\u2019t have coped with a different consultant at every appointment or not having the comfort of being able to contact his secretary multiple times a week at some stages.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Rebecca is not the only individual who spoke to The Irish Times about the devastation of child loss. <\/p>\n

Although many people perceive maternity hospitals to be happy places, not every story has a happy ending.<\/p>\n

Sophie\u2019s story: \u2018I felt if I went in at 37 weeks she would have been here\u2019<\/p>\n

Sophie, which is not her real name, lost her first daughter just over a year ago. She had what she describes as a \u201ctextbook pregnancy\u201d. She and her partner were \u201cso excited\u201d to discover they were having a little girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything was perfect. I was absolutely fine. When I was 37 weeks I went in with high blood pressure. I went in and I got checked. Everything was fine,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She requested an elective Caesarean (C-section) birth because she did not want to go to full-term but was refused on clinical grounds, as she was not deemed high risk. Days before her due date, she realised her baby\u2019s movements had stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rang my partner. I said I was going to go in [to the hospital]. Straight away they put a monitor on and the room just went really quiet. They said there was no heartbeat,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like an out-of-body experience. I wasn\u2019t looking at the screen because I knew there was something bad. He [her partner] was sitting at the end of my bed holding my hand and I could see the tears in his eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that was only the beginning of a difficult road ahead. Because she was full-term, she had to deliver her baby. The 14 hours in labour were \u201chorrendous\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally when you\u2019re giving birth, you\u2019re going through all this pain knowing you\u2019re going to hold your baby but I was doing it knowing she was gone,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

The doctors and nurses were \u201cvery good\u201d and supportive of her during this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had three or four days with my baby. We were in a private room with my partner and a cold cot so we could have visitors,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Though Sophie has since learned that there was little that could have been done to save her baby, who died from a foetal-maternal haemorrhage, a condition where foetal blood cells cross the placental barrier and enter the mother\u2019s blood circulation during pregnancy or delivery.<\/p>\n

She still wishes her voice had been listened to when she had asked for an earlier delivery at around the 37-week mark.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have your mammy intuition; your gut feeling. I know they say they can\u2019t just do whatever because you have a gut feeling but I just think there should be more flexibility,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt if I went in at 37 weeks she would have been here. She passed at 39 weeks and five days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claire O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s story: \u2018I\u2019m so grateful I was able to have a child\u2019\"ClaireClaire O’Sullivan: ‘You kind of catastrophise as a protective mechanism’ <\/p>\n

Not everyone has felt supported after a loss. Claire O\u2019Sullivan had five miscarriages before the birth of her daughter in 2024.<\/p>\n

Married in 2020, the now 40-year-old began trying for a baby with her now husband just before her wedding. The first three miscarriages were quite early in the pregnancies. The fourth required surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had just lost my child and I woke up in the recovery room and the woman beside me, because there is no privacy, was naming her child and I was after losing mine. I shouldn\u2019t have had to see something so joyous when it was the worst day of my life,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no separation. You just sit in the waiting room with expectant mothers who are excited and want to speak to you. It was horrendous. I felt like an utter failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issue of women who recently experienced a baby loss or received bad news being placed in wards with pregnant women or those who have recently given birth is something that was flagged in the strategy as something that should not happen.<\/p>\n

A decade later, however, some women still experience this situation. The HSE says staff try to avoid it as best they can, but the physical infrastructure of buildings can make that difficult.<\/p>\n

For O\u2019Sullivan, the grief was exacerbated by how lonely she felt at the time. She underwent the surgery in 2021, during the Covid pandemic, and her husband wasn\u2019t allowed to be with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey sent a bereavement midwife in to me. She gave me sunflower seeds, which was really odd to me. I had just lost my baby; I didn\u2019t want sunflowers. But every other time it [miscarriage] happened, there was absolutely no support,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like the minute you weren\u2019t pregnant any more, they didn\u2019t care. Any support I ever got was in forums online where people talk. It\u2019s like a dirty secret and it shouldn\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n

When pregnant with her daughter, who is now two years old, O\u2019Sullivan says she was very anxious the whole time. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou kind of catastrophise as a protective mechanism. That way if something bad does happen you can say you\u2019d thought it through. I\u2019m so grateful I was able to have a child; I know that\u2019s not the case for everyone,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The support available after a negative outcome is not only something highlighted by the people who spoke to The Irish Times. <\/p>\n

The State\u2019s health services watchdog, the Health Information and Quality Authority, has carried out two surveys on national maternity experiences and one survey on maternity bereavement experience that highlighted a similar gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cBereaved parents identified a need for better support after leaving hospital, particularly around grief, mental health and physical recovery,\u201d the survey found.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted clearer communication, more consistent follow-up care, dedicated bereavement spaces within hospitals and greater recognition of the needs of partners and support people.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"DrDr Cl\u00edona Murphy, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist and clinical director of National Women and Infants Health Programme. Photograph: Tom Honan <\/p>\n

Cl\u00edona Murphy, clinical director of NWIHP, says feedback to the programme has shown that bereavement care can be \u201cvariable\u201d but that this is something they are taking steps to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t enough thought or training given to doctors or midwives. There\u2019s been an awful lot of work done on bereavement standards, but it\u2019s also been backed up by infrastructural improvements,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Fiona Sadlier\u2019s story: A \u2018draining\u2019 IVF process before conceiving naturally \"FionaFiona Sadlier with her daughter Molly: ‘I\u2019m so appreciative of the kids I have and the journey I\u2019ve been on.’ Photograph: Edel O’Malley Photography <\/p>\n

Fiona Sadlier underwent four rounds of IVF fertility treatment over four years, with none of them resulting in a pregnancy. <\/p>\n

This, she says, was a devastating time in her life and a \u201creally draining process\u201d, though she knows she and her husband were lucky to have the option of fertility treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted it so bad that I would have done anything in order to get it. I was putting more stress on myself the whole time. There were so many times when I thought this was not going to work for us. We would sit down after every transfer and have a cry and make a plan,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said we\u2019d have a great life and come out the other side of it. We can figure out what would work for us. Adoption wasn\u2019t really an option. We bought a dog in the middle of it and said the dog could be our child.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then, to their complete surprise, they conceived naturally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t believe it for a long time,\u201d she says. \u201cYou thought this was going to be taken away. Once it got past a few months and I was able to settle into it, I loved being pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadlier now has two children, both of whom were conceived naturally. Despite the lack of success with the fertility treatment, Sadlier doesn\u2019t regret the money or time spent on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me learn a large lesson. I learned so much about myself, I probably wouldn\u2019t have gone through therapy. I\u2019m so appreciative of the kids I have and the journey I\u2019ve been on,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me and my husband\u2019s relationship, it was good for us. Life has challenges; this was just one of ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maternity hospitals are busy at the best of times, but some of the women who spoke to The Irish Times say this made them feel unimportant when they needed help.<\/p>\n

Some women say they didn\u2019t feel listened to, or their pain was dismissed during labour and they were not given any pain relief or any explanation as to why it was being denied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe induction ward was nothing short of a conveyor belt,\u201d says one woman, who says staff are overworked trying to care for all of the pregnant women.<\/p>\n

Another says: \u201cMothers should be able to focus on recovering and bonding with their babies, not navigating overcrowded wards and capacity shortages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staffing is one of the \u201cbiggest challenges\u201d, says the NWIHP\u2019s Kilian McGrane.<\/p>\n

\"KilianKilian McGrane, national programme director of the NWIHP. ‘Once upon a time, [a hospital staff member] left and they automatically got replaced. That\u2019s not the case any more.’ Photograph: Gareth Chaney\/Collins <\/p>\n

\u201cThe funded posts are very good overall but the actual numbers on the ground are quite challenging. We\u2019ve invested in about 360 midwives. But you don\u2019t see the net effect of that on the ground because the turnover is so high,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current rate of maternity and sick leave is between 15 and up to 20 per cent in some of the maternity units.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGrane says financial controls in place in three of the six HSE regions are having a \u201cmaterial impact on the ground\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce upon a time, someone left and they automatically got replaced. That\u2019s not the case any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yael Margalit\u2019s story: A \u2018calm\u2019 home birth using a birthing pool\"YaelYael Margalit knew she always wanted a home birth <\/p>\n

These busy, bustling atmospheres are one of the reasons why Yael Margalit (37) says she always wanted a home birth.<\/p>\n

She acknowledges that there is a \u201ctime and place for medical intervention\u201d but says she is aware of research that suggests people who attempt to give birth at home have a better birthing experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is more support and the less medical intervention in those contexts give a better birthing outcome. I felt I was going to get that at a home birth,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She contacted the now defunct Private Midwives Ireland and paid for a midwife to support her to deliver her baby at home in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything felt calm,\u201d she says, and she was able to use the birthing pool and had a \u201clot of downtime\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"YaelYael Margalit (37) was able to use a birthing pool during her home birth <\/p>\n

However, the option for private home births is now no longer available. Last summer, Private Midwives Ireland closed following an inability to obtain insurance. <\/p>\n

Consequently, home births are now only available through 23 self-employed community midwives who work through the HSE, in a system with stricter eligibility criteria. <\/p>\n

Home births are also not available in the midwest region through the HSE after this service was suspended in 2022 following the death of Laura Liston, who died after giving birth to her son<\/a> at her home in Limerick.<\/p>\n

But McGrane believes that despite the absence of services in the midwest and the gradual removal of private maternity care, there has been an increase in choice made available to expectant mothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have midwifery-led care across all of the units, which wasn\u2019t available when we launched the strategy,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

There might be an increase in midwife-led care, but there are still only two midwife units in the State, the same number there were when the strategy was launched.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018Free births\u2019 in Ireland: Within three hours Naomi (38) died, leaving behind four kidsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Angela Dunne, the national lead midwife at NWIHP, said this recommendation stalled due to \u201cinfrastructure restrictions and a lack of capital investment\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have put in place, alongside birth units, home-away-from-home units in 14 maternity units. They\u2019re non-clinical, nice environments for women to give birth in. The five units that don\u2019t, the reason is we just don\u2019t have space,\u201d says Dunne.<\/p>\n

The focus of the strategy isn\u2019t only on labour and birth.<\/p>\n

In recognition of the fact that a woman\u2019s needs don\u2019t end as soon as their baby is born, the State has developed nine postnatal hubs across the State, with plans for there to be a total of 13.<\/p>\n

Niamh Lynders\u2019s story: \u2018The healthcare assistant was so supportive on my first night trying to establish breastfeeding\u2019 <\/p>\n

When Niamh Lynders gave birth to her daughter in October 2024, all she wanted was to be able to breastfeed her baby.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a healthcare assistant on the ward on my first night trying to establish breastfeeding. She told me to get back into bed and [give it] some time. She was so good at supporting me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very conscious I hadn\u2019t established breastfeeding. I wanted to stay another night so more support [could] be established. They let me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lynders, who is based in north Dublin, notes there is a \u201cpostcode lottery\u201d when it comes to accessing postnatal supports, but says she had a \u201cgreat experience\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a public health nursing service and lactation consultants in Dublin. There was a time when I was over in Spain and emailed them when I had a problem with breastfeeding and they got back to me within 24 hours,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity midwives came out on day two when I was discharged. They offered me multiple visits after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amy Rose Hart\u2019s story: \u2018The public health nurse was fantastic but the scheduled checks wind up at four months\u2019<\/p>\n

In Donegal, Amy Rose Hart feels the services after birth still leave a lot to be desired. <\/p>\n

She recently was visited by her \u201cfantastic\u201d public health nurse at her home. Towards the end, she was asked the \u201cusual, brief set of postnatal depression-related questions: had I any anxiety or intrusive thoughts, was I feeling down, and so on\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily I was able to answer no, and the nurse shut her file. Case closed, it seems. And then I was effectively discharged from the public health system,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe checks for my baby will continue as she grows and changes. But for postnatal mothers, the formal, scheduled checks wind up at three to four months.\u201d<\/p>\n

She acknowledges the State has set up postnatal hubs, but says that \u201cputs the onus on women to go to them\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s another thing on my super-long to-do list. I\u2019d do it if I have to. But the baby could get sick that morning and you\u2019ll put it off. You always deprioritise yourself. The home visits are far more feasible,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Susan\u2019s story: \u2018I thought they were going to take the baby off me. It\u2019s horrendous\u2019<\/p>\n

Susan, which is not her real name, knows first hand the importance of postnatal follow-up care. She spoke of very different experiences in two pregnancies, the first delivered privately and the second in the public system.<\/p>\n

Susan had a history of anxiety and depression when she was a teenager but was doing well before she became pregnant with her first son in 2016, and wasn\u2019t on any medication at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring pregnancy, I had quite significant prenatal depression. I had extreme tearfulness, depressed mood, anxiety and panic attacks,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

She told her consultant when she was about 28 weeks\u2019 gestation that she was worried about her mental health but she says he told her he \u201dwouldn\u2019t be putting that in my chart because that would get a social worker involved\u201d.<\/p>\n

Because of that comment, Susan did not get any help. <\/p>\n

\n

Women are so vulnerable when they\u2019re pregnant and my concern about my mental health was undermined<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0‘Susan’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI thought they were going to take the baby off me. It\u2019s horrendous. You\u2019re so vulnerable,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

After she gave birth, her symptoms worsened. She had frequent tearful episodes and panic attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hyperventilating, feeling weak, crying. It escalated so badly. I was wailing like a banshee. I was having rolling panic attacks. It would burn itself out after four minutes, then I\u2019d have two minutes of feeling exhausted, and then another panic attack would come,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really upsetting for my husband and my mother. There was a period in which every night my mother or my husband slept with the baby and the other person slept with me. I was really sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

She eventually attended a GP and was referred to a psychiatrist. She tried different medications for her anxiety and depression, until she found one that suited her. She also engaged with other supports, such as therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen are so vulnerable when they\u2019re pregnant and my concern about my mental health was undermined,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

During her second pregnancy in the public system, concerning symptoms developed again but it was handled more sensitively this time. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was prepared for it; I had a care plan in place,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just the care that has been delivered to women that has changed since the launch of the strategy; the population itself has also transformed over the past decade. <\/p>\n

There is an increasing population of migrant women who may require a translator or who may not have had the same level of healthcare as someone who grew up in Ireland. This results in a need to spend longer with these patients, according to McGrane.<\/p>\n

\u201cGestational diabetes doubled between 2015 and 2024. It went from 6 per cent to 12.7 per cent but it\u2019s over 15 per cent now. The obesity rate went from 16 per cent in 2014 to 22.3 per cent in 2022,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Cl\u00edona Murphy, who is also a consultant gynaecologist, says that in some hospitals more than 40 per cent of women are overweight or obese.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has an impact, as some people may not do as well in labour, then they may have a Caesarean section, then they could have a wound infection, so their length of stay is longer,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Added to that, the risk of complication is higher, meaning the \u201cepisode of care is getting bigger\u201d.<\/p>\n

As the current strategy comes to a conclusion, the team responsible for its implementation is beginning to focus on what they still want to see achieved.<\/p>\n

McGrane says there are elements on that supported care pathway that we \u201chaven\u2019t fully gotten\u201d that they would like to address.<\/p>\n

He believes there is a need to ensure staff are able to cater to those who are currently underserved, such as people living in direct provision, or individuals who are in socioeconomically deprived areas.<\/p>\n

Although many women who spoke to The Irish Times criticised the maternity system, there was an overarching appreciation for the staff who delivered their care.<\/p>\n

Lily\u2019s story: \u2018The midwives were incredibly kind and supportive\u2019\"Lily:Lily: ‘You could visit your little one any time, day or night.’ Photograph: iStock <\/p>\n

Lily, which is not her real name, says she had an \u201cextremely positive experience\u201d of pregnancy, labour and postnatal care when she gave birth in the midwest in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to concerns about my baby, I was induced early. In the days leading up to the induction, the midwives were incredibly kind, supportive, and always available whenever I needed assistance,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The day after her daughter was born, she was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit as she wasn\u2019t feeding.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was there for two days and one night. You could visit your little one any time, day or night. It was a shock to the system because you don\u2019t know what to expect when you give birth,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut from the get-go, the midwives were very good. They were very hands on and always coming down to check up on me. I could not fault them. I couldn\u2019t have done it without them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Aoife O\u2019Connell first became pregnant she knew she wanted continuity of care. She wanted to see the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[78],"tags":[18,2215,135,60,19,17,5002,2645,32995],"class_list":["post-674187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-eire","tag-for-you","tag-health","tag-hse","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-jennifer-carroll-macneill","tag-pregnancy","tag-rotunda-hospital"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117219567175732133","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}