A midwife who has chosen to give birth to her sixth child at home has been told by the South Eastern Health Board it will not provide her with a home midwifery service.
In the High Court yesterday Ms Marie Nevin Maguire and her husband, Paul, of Daisybank House, Powershill, Checkpoint, Co Waterford, were granted liberty to issue notice of motion for an interlocutory mandatory injunction directing the Health Board to provide the service.
Dr Michael Forde SC, for the Maguires, told the court that Ms Maguire was fully eligible for the services provided for by Section 62 of the Health Act 1970. But the board had declined to provide these services on the basis that women having their sixth and subsequent deliveries were not suitable for home delivery.
In an affidavit, Ms Maguire said the South Eastern Health Board's community care centre in Waterford had "at very considerable public expense" trained two community midwives and hospital consultants had refused to allow them to continue practising home deliveries. Mr Colm MacGeehin, of MacGeehin and Toale solicitors, said he had sought an expert medical opinion from a distinguished consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Mr Richard Porter, Royal United Hospital, Bath, who had rejected refusing home birth to a mother in her sixth confinement as unscientific and without foundation.
When Mr Justice O'Sullivan was told Ms Maguire's application would take at least three days, he said that because of other urgent applications before the court there would be no judge available to hear it.
Mr Justice O'Sullivan said he had no power to appoint any fellow judge to hear the matter and suggested an application be made to the President of the High Court. Mr MacGeehin told the court he had been told the High Court President was "uncontactable."
The application of Ms Maguire, who is in her 33rd week of pregnancy, was put in for September 29th depending on the availability of a judge.