8th October 2002

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Setting up midwife-led maternity units in Northern Ireland would benefit many mothers-to-be, according to a University of Ulster midwifery expert.

Dr Marlene Sinclair, a senior lecturer in midwifery in the School of Nursing, pointed out the benefits of establishing 'stand-alone midwife-led maternity units' in the province. Such units are widely available to mothers-to-be in other regions of the UK.

She said midwife-led units produce verifiable gains to mothers including:
• A lower percentage of problem births.
• Lower use of painkillers.
• Less frequent surgical intervention.
• No induction of labour.
• No medical intervention in the birth process.
• Higher breastfeeding rates.
• Greater overall satisfaction with the birth experience.

Her comments come as health trusts are debating whether to establish stand-alone midwife-led maternity care units as proposed in the recent DHSPSS document “Developing Better Services”.

Dr Sinclair stressed that midwife-led units are appropriate only to women whose pregnancies are identified as low risk and rigorous and systematic assessment must accompany their introduction.

“Ideally all women should be screened for possible complications during pregnancy. Those who are identified as being low-risk should then have the opportunity to opt for midwife-led care during pregnancy.

“The introduction of midwife-led care units would also free doctors to work more with other high-risk cases.”

Northern Ireland currently has high rates of induced births and the highest caesarean section rates in the UK. “Induced births can lead to complications. For a proportion of women, midwife-led care would mean a reduction in the rates of induction and caesarean sections. It is also a more cost-effective system of care.

“But the most pressing need is to give mothers-to-be the widest possible informed choice of care options. There will be women who will require consultant-led care throughout their pregnancies because of risk or because that is their choice. All women whose pregnancies present no obvious risk should have the choice of opting for 'stand- alone midwife-led care'. That choice is freely available in every Trust in England, Scotland and Wales but not in every Trust in Northern Ireland.

“Let's make that choice available to all women in Northern Ireland,” Dr Sinclair added.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk