IRELAND HAS BEEN sent “back to the Dark Ages” in terms of birthing options for women after the largest private midwifery provider in the country announced its closure, a maternity care advocacy group has said.

The full details of what led to Private Midwives closing are not yet clear, but the company has said it was facing problems caused by ‘trading’, ‘financial’ and ‘political’ conditions.

Private Midwives said it would be contacting all the clients currently receiving its care “to ensure alternative arrangements are made for them”. 

It said it would be reimbursing those who have prepaid for care. 

Krysia Lynch, the current chair of the voluntary organisation Association for Improvements in Maternity Services Ireland (Aims), said today that women who were planning to have home births through Private Midwives have been left in a difficult position. 

Lynch said some women who are already 37 or 38 weeks pregnant – almost full term – and were planning to give birth at home imminently have now been left with no care provider.

“One of the women who is in contact with us is 38 weeks along and she doesn’t know what to do now. She had a very difficult experience giving birth in hospital previously and she had planned for a home birth this time round with private midwives,” Lynch said.

Lynch said that Private Midwives applied broader criteria for offering home birth services to women by comparison with the few HSE midwifery units that are able to offer the service around the country.

That was because the company took an individualised approach rather than applying blanket restrictions, such as the HSE’s cut-off for home birth services once a pregnancy reaches 41 weeks, and age restrictions.

She further explained that the HSE has a “limited offering” in terms of home birthing services in Ireland, and that Private Midwives was acting as a “buffer” that “covered the lack in care provision we have in this country”. 

“The impact of this will be huge in terms of women’s options,” she said. 

Lynch further said that if women are now not able to pursue home birthing options through the HSE it could be possible that there will be a rise in free-birthing in Ireland as a result of this closure. 

Free-birthing means giving birth at home with no qualified medical professional present. This increases the risks during birth for both mothers and babies, and it’s already happening in Ireland on an increasing basis as more people are seeking to give birth outside of hospitals. 

“Private Midwives has become essential to a lot of people who couldn’t get home birth services otherwise, because of where they are geographically, because they didn’t fit the HSE’s criteria, or because of midwife absences,” she said. 

“We’re back to the dark ages now of 2009 when we had very, very limited options for home births in Ireland, this is really disastrous,” she said. 

Private Midwives had 21 midwives working as part of its services across every province in Ireland. 

In Ireland the company offered a full antenatal, birthing and postnatal package for €6,800, and €6000 for returning clients, and it also offered staggered payments plans and options to only sign up for specific services. 

The Journal has asked the HSE if it has been in contact with Private Midwives to ensure that the women who were signed up to the care provider are made fully aware of their options going forward. 

Aims Ireland is encouraging any woman who is now without a birthing plan as a result of this closure to contact the organisation for support. 

Information about the HSE’s National Home Birth services can be found on their website.

Private Midwives has been contacted for comment.