The Closure of Private Midwives Ireland and what this means for choice

Private Midwives Ireland were the sister company of Private Midwives UK In Ireland they were the only care provider offering a HBAC service (Home Birth After Caesarean Section).

Prior to their inception in 2015, women who were looking for a home birth following a c section remained unable to access this choice in the Republic of Ireland.

Choices in home births and what midwives could deliver in terms of home birth services became severely restricted in 2011 following the Nurses and Midwives Act. This Act set out that it was illegal to attend a birth without insurance. Meanwhile insurance could only be provided to midwives practicing in the community in Ireland by the state. So the State indemnity authority drew up a list of things they would not insure midwives for; attending someone with a previous caesarean section was one of these things .

So we had a situation where women could not access individual assessment, instead a blanket assessment (dictated by insurance brokers) was imposed unilaterally on all women and on all midwives. This appalling situation continued for four years until the emergence of PMI. PMI was a game changer for so many women and their demise will leave a big hole to be filled in Ireland.

Listen in to myself and Claire Kerin talk about the loss of PMI and what it will mean in terms of birth choices in Ireland and also what people who were booked in with them could do.

If you would like to know more about choices and supporting women in maternity services in Ireland, then maybe my doula training is for you. Find out more here There are two fabulous bonuses available until 31st August 2025 worth 600 Euro!