To: The Minister for Health
Protect Choice and Continuity in Maternity Care
We believe that women should retain meaningful choice in how they receive care during pregnancy and birth, and that existing maternity care pathways should be enhanced, not restricted, by healthcare reforms.
We call on the Government to safeguard women’s rights to choice by refraining from removing private maternity care options through Sláintecare reform.
Today, thousands of pregnant women choose private maternity care for a range of reasons, including more frequent appointments based on individual circumstances, personalised care, and the ability to choose their consultant. But for many, the key reason is that it is the only way to guarantee continuity of care.
We call on the Government to safeguard women’s rights to choice by refraining from removing private maternity care options through Sláintecare reform.
Today, thousands of pregnant women choose private maternity care for a range of reasons, including more frequent appointments based on individual circumstances, personalised care, and the ability to choose their consultant. But for many, the key reason is that it is the only way to guarantee continuity of care.
Continuity of care means having a chosen consultant provide regular examinations throughout pregnancy, attend labour and delivery, and provide postnatal care. This maternity care pathway enables women to access care options tailored to their specific physical and emotional needs, providing peace of mind during a highly personal and significant life event.
Continuity of care is particularly important during labour, when women may be required to make significant decisions about their own or their baby’s health in a highly vulnerable and time-sensitive situation. Having an established relationship with a trusted consultant can provide familiarity and reassurance at a crucial time.
Not every woman chooses this option. But women should have the right to.
Healthcare reform should expand the choices available to women, not reduce them. Yet under current Sláintecare reforms, access to end-to-end private maternity care is being phased out.
Maternity care is uniquely affected by Sláintecare policy, and women are the only group directly impacted by these changes. Unlike other areas of medicine, there are no standalone private maternity hospitals in Ireland. As a result, removing private care from public hospitals removes access to a form of maternity care that cannot simply relocate elsewhere in the healthcare system.
These changes will make Ireland an outlier in Europe, where women in many comparable health systems have access to a range of private maternity care options alongside public services.
We fully support the improvement of our public maternity care system, and we believe that healthcare reforms should be about enhancing care, not restricting choice.
We call on the Government to:
- maintain women’s ability to access private maternity care within public hospitals.
Why is this important?
Other people should join this campaign because it is about protecting women’s right to choose how they receive maternity care.
Many women value continuity of care with a known consultant throughout pregnancy, labour, and postnatal care, as it provides reassurance and consistency at a vulnerable time.
Current reforms risk reducing these options without offering suitable alternatives. This campaign is about ensuring healthcare reform improves choice rather than limiting it.
