Sir - I welcome the decision of Mr Justice Moriarty to allow the home-birth midwife Ann Kelly to resume her care of the 14 women who had booked with her before An Bord Altranais took out an injunction to stop her practising.
As the father of three children, all of whom were born safely, peacefully and joyfully at home, I empathise strongly with those expectant parents whose wishes for a home birth would otherwise have been thwarted.
Parents have a statutory right to have children born at home and the health boards have an obligation to provide a midwife. Under the care of a trained domiciliary midwife, birth at home is as safe for healthy mothers and their babies as the hospital setting. International studies bear this out, as do Ann Kelly's own impressive statistics of over 350 home births in Ireland in the past 12 years.
The maternity hospitals serve us well. Many parents are very pleased with the care they receive there. Others wish to give birth at home. The aptly named Minister for Health and Children must fulfil his obligation to these parents by promoting the development of domiciliary midwifery. Maternity hospitals, ever seeking to improve their services, must support and collaborate with home-birth midwives to provide choice to parents. - Yours, etc.,
From Dr Tom Schnittger
Carrickmines, Dublin 18.