I would like to share with all of you how I experienced my pregnancy and child´s birth in Cork, Ireland. As a foreigner, I first thought about the possibility of giving birth in my own country as I did not know how things worked in Ireland regarding the maternity experience.
Sooner rather than later, I realized that Ireland is well prepared for maternity care. Every pregnant woman is entitled to have free medical attention. Apart from that, you can also decide the way that you would like to give birth.
I conducted research on the different possibilities of giving birth in Ireland for a few months. When I was in my 32 week, I talked to my husband and we both agreed to organize a home birth. We believe that this was a good decision for us and for our baby.
The service that “National Home Birth Service” provides is absolutely amazing. The midwife, who is fully qualified and experienced, brings everything required to your home well before the due date. In our case, our midwife has over 35 years of experience.
After passing a check-up at the hospital, our midwife met us regularly at her house. We had an hour appointment with her on a weekly basis. Therefore, we could avoid the long queues usually formed at hospitals. In addition, we could also contact her anytime if something bothered us. Because of that, we built a trustful relationship with her, which made me feel very relax and confident during my labour.
When I started to have strong contractions, my husband rang the midwife. Once she got to our flat and checked I was in active labour, she immediately phoned both the hospital and the ambulance to let them know. Everything was ready in case I had had to be taken to hospital. Just thirty minutes before the arrival, a second experienced homebirth midwife arrived at my flat in order to be present and assist myself if needed. According to the HSE policy, there must be two midwives present at birth.
I was really well prepared for that moment. I did yoga, watched lots of videos and exercised in water i.e. swimming, water walking or jogging and aqua aerobics during pregnancy what I found very helpful and it really prepared me. I also had a lot of confidence and trust in the midwife, and that’s why I think everything went well.
My little boy was born after 4 hours of labour in a safe and relaxed environment. We had a natural birth. There was no need for any type of pain relief or for having stitches. I won’t ever forget my baby lying on my chest looking for my breast. We were so happy that we even forgot to ask our midwife for the baby´s sex.
The homebirth service finished two weeks after the baby was born. The midwife visited my baby and me to see if we had any concerns. After that period of time, the breastfeeding was settled and I started to feel better.
I am very glad to have had the opportunity to give birth to my first baby in that way, in Ireland. That is something that, unfortunately, it could not be possible in my country without paying for it.
Thank you to Community Midwives Association, SECMs, which provides this service, and the HSE, who pays for it, for giving me the chance to have a homebirth.
If you felt like having a homebirth, I would recommend visiting the website www.communitymidwives.ie so as to find the closest Self Employed Community Midwife (SECM) to where you live. Further information available on http://www.homebirth.ie
Cork Expats Families 