A new era in childbirth began yesterday with the official launch of midwifery-led units in both Cavan General Hospital and Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda.
This is the first scheme in the country to offer midwifery-led care and birth in dedicated units.
The philosophy behind the units is that the pregnant woman is in control, with the midwife as the supporting person.
"Birth is a natural physiological event and we safeguard and support the natural process of labour in the midwifery-led units. There is no medical intervention, birth is seen as normal and natural," said Ms Colette McCann, nurse manager for women and children's services.
While there is no routine involvement by obstetricians, unless the midwife believes there is a problem, full consultant services are available in situ.
The provision of such units was recommended in the Kinder review of maternity services in the North Eastern Health Board in 2001, the same year that maternity services ceased at two of the region's five acute hospitals.
The scheme began taking bookings yesterday and two women were referred to the Drogheda unit. The units in each hospital have two rooms where each woman will have her baby and receive post-delivery care.
Both rooms have birthing pools, and a range of other methods of pain relief are available including birthing balls, Entonox (gas) and pethidine. Epidurals are available but will involve being transferred to the consultant-led services.
Last year there were 3,389 births in the region and by 2006 the units hope to have delivered some 1,500 babies.
Only healthy women with complication-free pregnancies are eligible for the scheme, which is free and available to both public and private patients.
The NEHB is funding the school of nursing and midwifery studies at Trinity College in Dublin to facilitate, document and evaluate the implementation of maternity services in the region following the Kinder report.
The piloting of the two midwifery-led units will continue for two years, at which point a final evaluation will be provided by TCD and a decision taken on whether to expand the service to other locations in the region.