500 signatures reached
To: Minister for Health - Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Choice in Maternity Care Matters: Mothers Deserve More
Mothers in Ireland deserve modern, evidence-based, women-centred maternity care. Nearly a decade after the National Maternity Strategy promised safer care with more choice, too many women have fewer options, rising intervention rates, and a postcode lottery for services. That’s not good enough—for mothers, babies, or midwives.
Why is this important?
What needs to change now:
- Real choice of place of birth. While we welcome “Home-from-home” rooms as a much needed option for water immersion in hospitals, these rooms are no substitute for home birth or birth centres. The National Maternity Strategy outlined that all supported pathway, or uncomplicated, pregnancies would give birth in birth centres or home birth. As such, we request:
- The development of truly midwifery-led birthing centres in all 19 maternity units or catchment areas. There are currently only two, the same number as before the strategy was created.
- The restoration and expansion of public home birth. Reinstate services where they are suspended, like in Limerick, and extend access nationwide so eligible women in the supported care pathway can choose a home birth without unnecessary barriers.
- Respect midwives’ autonomy. Make midwifery-led care the default for uncomplicated pregnancies, protect community midwifery schemes, and ensure midwives can practise within their full scope.
- Make informed consent non-negotiable. Provide clear information on risks, benefits and alternatives — including the option of no intervention — and honour valid refusals. End routine, non-evidence-based interventions and apply national guidance consistently.
- Prioritise water immersion and facilitating water births. 15 of the 19 maternity units have at least one birthing pool, but only three offer water birth. Every unit should have at least one birthing pool and every unit should offer water birth. Prioritise this safe option for women with staff training, nationalised protocols and auditing to ensure usage — water is effective natural analgesia and should be supported.
- Trauma-informed care everywhere. Train staff and resource services so every woman — especially survivors of sexual violence — receives compassionate, sensitive, person-centred care.
- Transparency & accountability: All too often Maternity Safety Statements (MSS) are incomplete and months behind. Some hospitals fail to publish all clinical incidents and cumulative year to date figures. This is unacceptable and must be resolved. We believe the MSS should also be expanded, publish unit-level data on all interventions, including:
- Differentiating methods of induction used, including membrane sweeps, pessaries and oxytocin drip.
- Distinguishing between elective, scheduled and emergency caesareans
- water immersion
- water birth
- home birth requests and coverage
7. We need clear timelines for full NMS implementation — with service-user and midwifery oversight.
This is about choice, safety, dignity, and trust. It’s 2025: mothers and babies in Ireland deserve maternity care that truly centres women and follows the evidence — not convenience or outdated protocols.
Add your name to demand real choice and better care. Share this petition with your family, friends and community. Together, we can ensure every mother in Ireland has access to respectful, evidence-based, women-centred care — where informed choice is the standard, not the exception.
We also invite you to stand with us at one or more of our rallies to show your support in person. Every voice and presence makes a difference, and together we can create real change. Together, women and families can show that we will no longer accept less — because women, babies, families and midwives deserve better.
Rally Information
Sligo: October 11th, 11am, Queen Maeve Square, Sligo Town
Limerick: October 11th, 11am, Location TBD
Dublin: October 23rd 2pm, At the gates of Leinster House