Irish Birth Movement Condemns Use Of Limited Inpatient Survey As A Basis For Restrictions
The Irish Birth Movement condemns use of a limited inpatient survey as a basis for restrictions in lieu of full risk assessment publication which has sparked outrage among service users nationwide.
The group – which is a leading voice in advocating for the rights of maternity service users, comprising of doctors, midwives, doulas, service users and parents – has said that the recent Rotunda Statement has unleashed a fury across the country.
Commenting today, Yvonne Aherne, spokesperson for the Irish Birth Movement, said:
"The statement from the Rotunda has been very angrily received by service users and their partners.
Many people have contacted us looking for the opportunity to finally have their voices heard in the form of a national protest.”
Yvonne Aherne stressed:
“The Rotunda are risking the mental health of their service users based on, what appears to be, an ad hoc survey performed across a small number of inpatients.
Yet, the risk assessment performed in the Rotunda and other units have still not been made public.
Maternity Units do not appear to be answerable to the Chief Medical Officer, the Minister for Health or even the HSE. It is simply unacceptable at this stage.”
Aherne further added:
"A published study by The Psychological Society of Ireland confirms the damage being done to maternal mental health, and with postnatal depression affecting almost one in every two women, we are facing a mental health epidemic.
The International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology recently published a paper highlighting that many restrictions are not even evidence based. It is only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt or loses their life due to these restrictions.”
The Irish Birth Movement have asked those interested in protesting to follow their social media channels for further details on upcoming action.
