New guidelines on home births have come under fire due to the possible restrictions they may impose on people's birthing choices.
The HSE has published proposals that would prevent women living further than 30 minutes away from a hospital from giving birth at home. Health experts say that women who live outside of the 30 minute zone and suffer complications while in labour are at a heightened risk due to their distance from healthcare settings.
Krysia Lynch, chair of the Association for Improvements in Maternity Services in Ireland, says that choice is important when giving birth. She also criticised the 30 minute limit and said it discriminated against women living in rural or isolated parts of the country.
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She told Newstalk Breakfast: “I do think if we’re going by distance criteria, it needs to be evidence based. We need to have proper risk assessments for people. If this goes ahead, you’ll have parts of the country where people are denied a home birth choice.”
Similarly, she argued that birth is also an emotional experience rather than merely a physical one. The need to acknowledge this in health policy was important, she said.
A map outlining the impacted areas shows that people in parts of Wexford, as well as some areas in the West, would not qualify for a home birth due to their location. The proposal was also slammed by a Cork TD, who argued that it was denying women in rural areas autonomy over their bodies.
Christopher O’ Sullivan wrote: “We owe women the right to choose the birthing option that best suits their needs and wishes. Deciding whether they want to avail of a safe, healthy home birth shouldn’t be based on whether or not they live within 30 mins of a maternity service.”
There were approximately 470 home births recorded last year with the support of HSE hospitals. There are some restrictions currently in place to ensure safe home births. People who have had a Caesarean in previous births, for example, or who have haemorrhaged after labour, may not be eligible to undergo a home birth.
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