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The Explainer x Noteworthy: Will home births ever be the norm in Ireland?

Editor Maria Delaney and researcher Soma Gregory tell Susan Daly about the many obstacles facing women who would prefer this option.

LAST UPDATE | 20 Sep 2023

Design for BIRTH PLACE project - Newborn baby being supported by two sets of hands.

“I FELT LIKE there were roadblocks everywhere I turned.”

That is how Orla Harrington, mother of two from Co Louth, felt when she explored the option of a home birth for her first pregnancy.

In its latest in-depth series, Noteworthy‘s editor Maria Delaney finds women are still battling for maternity care choice in many parts of Ireland. Our BIRTH PLACE investigation reveals inconsistent care and lack of choice is leading to trauma and unnecessary medical interventions.

Interest in giving birth at home has grown in popularity in recent years but the challenges faced by women who would prefer this option are many. Despite this, less than 1% – of women avail of the HSE Home Birth Scheme each year.

This week, in an episode of The Explainer brought to you by Noteworthy, we ask why that is the case and whether it is set to change any time soon.

Trinity College Dublin researcher Soma Gregory joins the podcast. She recently examined the experiences of people who had both home and hospital births. 

Presenter Susan Daly also chats with Delaney about her investigation’s findings. 

https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/by-noteworthy-will-home-births-ever-be-the-norm-in-ireland?si=d6b79e2863fa4880aca99188a41aed43&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

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This episode was put together by Maria Delaney, Susan Daly and producer Laura Byrne.

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    Mute Damien Morris
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    Jan 27th 2013, 11:00 AM

    Nightmare

    191
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    Mute ThomasFrancisMeagher
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    Jan 27th 2013, 12:00 PM

    Brazilians are such friendly & welcoming people. Awful to hear of something so sad as this j
    Happening. RIP to all the victims.

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    Mute w7FX9NHY
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    Jan 27th 2013, 9:07 PM

    Such a nice thing to read about us Thomas! Ireland is a great place because I think the same of the Irish people. It’s really hard to understand how come a end of summer night out turns out into a nightmare. Just feel deeply sorry for the families and friends living down there.

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    Mute Derek Byrne
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    Jan 27th 2013, 11:02 AM

    Oh sweet Jesus. Horrific. God bless them.

    139
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    Mute Mike Clinton
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    Jan 27th 2013, 11:01 AM

    So sad,party atmosphere turned to horror..

    124
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    Mute Simon Blake
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    Jan 27th 2013, 11:01 AM

    Stardust MKII. Hundreds of devastated people. Most likely needlessly.

    114
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    Mute Paul Connell
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    Jan 27th 2013, 11:39 AM

    Shocking news .(What’s with the red thumbs ??)

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    Mute Shane Walsh
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    Jan 27th 2013, 12:29 PM

    Bloody hell! I can’t even imagine the panic and horrifying scenes.

    79
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    Mute Lucille Ball
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    Jan 27th 2013, 12:28 PM

    God almighty .. Terrible terrible news.. young people enjoying a nite out.. RIP…

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    Mute Johnny Magory
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    Jan 27th 2013, 12:20 PM

    Yeah RTE says at least 200 dead, death toll will probably rise as they find more bodies today RIP

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    Mute bignazza
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    Jan 27th 2013, 12:07 PM

    I’m hearing figures of 200 dead from the bbc

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    Mute Dr.fury
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    Jan 27th 2013, 2:40 PM

    Every parents worst nightmare waiting up for your kids to come in and then hearing that dreaded knock,my heart goes out to them,terrible tragedy rip

    38
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    Mute mart_n
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    Jan 27th 2013, 2:28 PM

    I can’t imagine a more frightening ordeal. It’s not the first time that hundreds of lives have been claimed by the decision of some idiots to use pyrotechnics indoors either, despite there being no fire-safety plan. The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island killed 100+… there’s a video of it on YouTube. Things can turn bad real fast in such scenarios.

    It’s often said, but people should really familiarise themselves with exits in nightclubs etc. You don’t have a lot of time to react if something does happen, and most people will instinctively head for the main exit.

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    Mute Mags Horan
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    Jan 27th 2013, 2:35 PM

    Memories of the Stardust tragedy come flooding back… So sad :-(

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    Mute Doreen Mc Allister
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    Jan 27th 2013, 2:05 PM

    So sad rip

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    Mute john stone
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    Jan 27th 2013, 2:28 PM

    My god

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    Mute Caitríona Bolger
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    Jan 27th 2013, 3:17 PM

    Absolutely heartbreaking. So many lives lost.

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    Mute Prince Hector
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    Jan 27th 2013, 2:41 PM

    God help them.

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    Mute Eileen Gabbett
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    Jan 27th 2013, 7:49 PM

    How awful. Shocking news . All young people out enjoying themselves. May they rest in peace.

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    Mute Liam Crowe
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    Jan 27th 2013, 4:13 PM

    Horrific story, such a Tragedy :(

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    Mute Daniel R
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    Jan 27th 2013, 3:59 PM

    Shouldn’t there be a limit to how many can be let in at a given time? The more people you have the longer its going to take to physically get out of the building, even if it’s a big building.

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    Mute Joe OShea
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    Jan 27th 2013, 10:37 PM

    It’s not a problem once you have a sufficient number of fire exits. But in this case, it seems the venue was packed to over double it maximum capacity – an extra 1000 people. Also in Brazil, there is often no emergency lighting over fire exits, so it is difficult to see where the exits are. It seems from preliminary reports that security guards stopped people from leaving, and that crowds were stampeding towards a single exit which became blocked by dead bodies. All the cumbersome regulations we see here is not without good reason.

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    Mute Dick Fearful
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    Jan 27th 2013, 10:46 PM

    Why would God allow such a thing to happen? I think I know the answer.

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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Jan 28th 2013, 4:02 PM

    Horrific thing to happen. My heart goes out to the families and friends of those poor young people just out for a night’s enjoyment and have either died (RIP)or been injured.
    This brings back memories of our own Stardust tragedy here in Dublin all those years ago.

    1
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