Poots To Charge For Caesarian Births

There's a push on to reduce NI's high rate of caesarean births with Health Minister Edwin Poots today launching a consultation on a review of maternity services - which may lead to charges for mums who go for a surgical delivery.

The review also seeks to increase the number of home births and to further emphasize the role of midwife-led units for less complicated deliveries.

The draft strategy follows a review of maternity services in Northern Ireland and focuses on providing high quality maternity care tailored to meet the needs of the woman.

He said this morning on BBC NI that it also puts midwives "back at the heart of maternity services" with a view to normalise birth.

However, he did admit that women who elect for surgical delivery - a caesarian - for non-medical reasons, might in future have to pay for the whole process through private care.

The DUP Minister said: "The provision of safe, sustainable, high quality maternity services is one of my priorities.

"Everyone will come in contact with maternity services at some time or another and the standard of care provided to families is very close to everyone's hearts. That is why this strategy is so important."

Speaking this morning he emphasized that the draft strategy aims to provide a clear pathway for maternity services in Northern Ireland from preconceptual care through to post natal care.

The Minister said: "I would encourage individuals and organisations with an interest in this area to engage in the consultation to ensure we have a robust and comprehensive strategy for the way forward in maternity care for Northern Ireland."

The strategy document outlines a number of recommendations for women, professionals, commissioners and policy makers across the maternity care pathway. This includes preconceptual; antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care.

He also admitted that if the recommendations are implemented, "it will significantly change how services are delivered".

He added that the strategy places an emphasis on early direct contact with a midwife and a better understanding of the roles of midwives and obstetricians.

"It also sets out clear recommendations for providing more choice, providing care closer to home, and tackling public health issues such as obesity, smoking and alcohol abuse in pregnancy."

Home Delivery Encouraged

Turning to care-closer-to-home, he said that, in 2010, 90% of women of women gave birth in a hospital setting.

The Minister said: "For the majority of women, having a baby is a normal experience that they wish to share with their partners as close as possible to home and family.

"I want to support this and so, in the future, women who are likely to have straightforward births, will be encouraged to consider having their baby in a Midwife Led Unit or, having a home birth if it is appropriate to do so."

To help them make this choice, the Strategy proposes that each Trust will be expected to provide at least one Consultant Led Unit with a Midwife Led Unit on the same site.

Co-chairs to the review were Dr Paul Fogarty from the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists and Professor Cathy Warwick from The Royal College of Midwives

Commenting on the proposals, Dr Fogarty said: "The aim is to focus medical expertise on those women who need it and extend the provision of other local services for women.

"We propose a network of maternity services in which the majority of women are cared for nearer to home, in which the skills of GPs, midwives and obstetricians are used appropriately, in which needs assessment, high quality communication and ease of transfer are paramount and where unnecessary interventions are avoided.

"The evidence from across the UK shows that this works for women."

Also commenting, Professor Cathy Warwick, added: "High quality care does not need to equate to hospital care for every woman. Indeed the growing complexity of healthcare means that it is impossible to provide specialist care for every condition in every hospital.

"Advances in science and technology offer new ways of tackling issues and it is now possible for maternity services and the professionals who provide them to work in a highly integrated way without everyone being concentrated in a single building."

The consultation will run from 28 September 2011 to 23 December 2011.

See: DHSSPSNI

(BMcC/CD)