'I gave birth the way I wanted to'
Giving birth can be a scary experience for some mothers, but these two women chose to take control, with the help of the Rotunda's domino scheme
I did it my way: Louise Dunne gave birth to Max and Mira naturally, supported by a team of midwives
Meet the women who had the birth they wanted, thanks to a team of midwives. When Louise Dunne (36), above, became pregnant with Max -- now two and a half -- she booked into the Dublin hospital where she'd been born.
"I assumed I would go in and have an epidural. People I knew who'd had babies always said, 'it's a bit nightmarish, but you have an epidural and you are fine'."
But when Louise went for her hospital appointments, she found the whole experience a bit impersonal.
"You'd see different people each time. I thought, 'I am low risk. Why am I here seeing doctors?' I began to read about how different countries deal with childbirth.
"I began to get an instinct for the kind of birth I wanted. I didn't decide, as a given, that I wanted a natural birth, but I thought I would like to try birth without intervention. And I knew that it helped if you were relaxed, and trusting of your environment."
When Louise was eight and a half months pregnant, the Rotunda Hospital started a Domino scheme, where women are cared for by a team of midwives with the option of delivering at home or at hospital. At 18-22 weeks, a scan is carried out to access a woman's suitabilitiy for the rest of the programme.
It also involves early hospital discharge and midwife home visits for up to a week.
"I turned up there and they took me on," says Louise. "I met one of the midwives and in that first appointment, I felt really cared for. Within half an hour, I knew more about what was going on than I'd learned in the previous eight months.
"My labour was fine. I stayed at home for as long as possible. The midwife was wonderful. I had stitches, but no drugs. I first saw Max through a haze of euphoria and relief. I woke afterwards feeling, 'I could do that again'.
"Max was born at 6pm. I stayed in hospital until 11am the next morning so the paediatrician could assess him. Then I went home, and the midwives visited every day for five days. It was brilliant."
When Louise became pregnant again, she went back on the Rotunda scheme."The birth of Mira, four and a half months ago, felt as if I was just popping into the hospital and going home again. It was as good as a home birth, or better; because you don't have the mess.
"On the Domino scheme you get to know the team of midwives really well. You bond with other mothers who had the same midwife. It's like living in a town 100 years ago."
A midwife-led scheme isn't for everyone. Some women need a doctor's care for medical reasons; others prefer a more high-tech birth with ready access to an epidural.
But there are many women in Ireland who would love to access a domino scheme, but haven't one in their area.
Take Maura O'Shea, now 35. She was living in Carlow back in 2001, when she was pregnant with her first child, Darach. Her nearest hospital, Kilkenny, didn't have any form of midwifery-led care.
"I felt birth was an important event in my life, and my instinct was to give birth with someone I knew and trusted.
"I wrote to the hospital and told them what I wanted. Two lovely midwives volunteered to care for me in hospital.
"From six months on, I'd call up to them in the evenings for my antenatal care. And they both came for the birth.
"I stayed in hospital for one night, and the midwives came to see me at home for nine days. They gave me so much support."
When Maura was expecting Molly, born in 2004, she was living in Waterford. She booked herself on to the Domino scheme and the midwives, discussing what she wanted, felt that a home birth through the scheme was the best way to go.
Home birth
"The day before Molly was born, I felt a bit off. One of the midwives came out and said I wasn't dilated, but she felt labour would start soon. We set up the spare room for the birth, with a stereo and candles.
"My contractions began at 11pm, and two midwives arrived at 12.30am. It was very relaxed. They sat on the stairs, just checking me occasionally.
"When the birth was close, they came in and took over. At one stage, Darach woke up. I was singing like a whale and it disturbed him. I lost my focus, and worried that I wouldn't keep it together. But I never wished that I was in hospital.
"I pushed for just 20 minutes and Molly was born. The midwives came for five days afterwards and never seemed in a rush. "I felt confident and in control. Some women don't trust their bodies to give birth. It frightens them, but it's the thought of an epidural, and the loss of control, that frightens me. If you go the natural way you don't fight the contractions; you go with them, and that makes labour easier."
"Women love the scheme," says Fiona Hanrahan, the midwife in charge of the Rotunda's Domino scheme. "We're fully booked with between 40 and 45 women due in any one month. If we had the funding we could fill another team.
"They access a midwife clinic in Swords, Blanchardstown or Coolock. They come in here and have the baby with our team of midwives, and are visited, by them, for five days afterwards.
"Some of the younger women, now having their second babies, have never known anything else. They get upset if they wait more than 10 minutes. They can't understand how birth could be another way."
- Sue Leonard
