I want to give birth abroad In Ireland

[poochy33]

Am new here hope its not too long winded.

I want to have my baby in the Republic of Ireland as I need the support of my family around me. All our families live in Ireland. I was born there so hold Irish passport etc. I moved to the UK from Ireland 6 & half years ago. I am pregnant with my second child; the first will be 22 months when I am due. I did have the 1st in the UK, I had emergency CS so was delighted to have my parents over to me for 2 weeks.

This time round due to family commitments/issue they will not be able to come over to help & support us so would love to give birth there. I need their support more than ever to look after no.1 while I settle with no.2. My husband is self employed so can only really afford to take time off while I?m in hospital and a couple of days when I?m home.

As I am not considered an ?ordinarily resident? in Ireland I can not go for the state care there which is free for all pregnant women who are resident. There is no way I could pay a colossal private fee. However I have read on NHS website about the S2 form that can allow people to have treatment abroad. My questions are:

Has anyone gone back to their motherland just to have baby? (I would hope to move back at around 32 weeks so will have NHS care until then, than come back to UK around 10 weeks later with baby.)

Is the S2 form granted for personal reasons like mine or is my application likely to be rejected?

If anyone has any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

i had dd1 at holles st in 2009 and dd2 at the rotunda 4 weeks ago, both with the public midwives service - i was with the domino scheme at the rotunda and can't recommend it highly enough, and then the midwives who attended my delivery were great.

i would caution that there is a substantial problem with capacity at all of the dublin maternity hospitals - for a while it looked like i would be giving birth to dd2 in an a+e examining room, because the delivery suites were all in use. there is also a problem with ancillary services - things like bed changing, because the hiring moratorium in the public sector means people who leave are not replaced, so there are staff shortages. but the care is great and they don't chuck you out immediately if you aren't feeling prepared to go home.

but i think you should really think hard about this plan - what if some airport jobsworth stops you from travelling at the last minute? what if you deliver early? what if you need longer term postnatal care than you envisage now?

working9while5, thanks not interested in factual response , just saying obviously not going to do it if it is soo much hassle. I have read alot of mn threads so knew what to expect and thats why I joined. wouldn't have stayed on for all this time if not willing to hear what people have to say. Have friends here but would love to have family over again, whose knows things might work out and they might make it over who knows :)

yes stripeywoollenhat, thanks for your detailed response definitely have lots of things to think about. I know have to think about all that could go wrong. Cheers :)

Neuromantic, having lived and worked as a nurse in Ireland for 10 years, given birth to my first child there and had sick patients and relatives in most of the Dublin/ greater Dublin, then 3rd world was being kind.

I made an official complaint to Holles street regarding the conditions and lack of care, labouring in unit 3 in a 20 bed victorian ward which was reminiscent of a magdalene laundry was awful.
The filth etc was truly disgusting.

Maybe I am lucky that my NHS area is good.

I thought you had to pay for medical care in Ireland unless you were poor/on benefits? My family pays about £3000-4000 for each baby delivered?

Everyone is entitled to free maternity care in public hospital, you can pay for private or semi private.

The care in the NHS is pretty variable too, FannyFifer. When I was on a ward with an asthma attack 4 years ago in the UK, there were routinely 6-7 full pans in the patient toilet which were left for hours. As it was a respiratory ward, many of the patients were elderly and they would knock over these pans so would come back in stinking of wee. On one occasion there was blood all over the sink for several hours even when several of us had asked for it to be cleaned up and in general, it really didn't seem that clean. I was there for a week and never saw the floor being washed.

On my postnatal ward (again, Northern England) I had a nurse literally screaming at me hours after my delivery about dropping wipes on the floor and how she wasn't there to clear up after me. I had had a spinal block for Kielland's forceps delivery and had no feeling in my legs, but was apparently supposed to be able to change my baby on an A4 sized leaf of the cot which was out of my reach and bend down and pick up wipes. The second night, she also told me I shouldn't have bothered having a baby if I wasn't prepared for breastfeeding to hurt and if I couldn't persevere at that for one night, how would I ever manage with any real challenges in life? . This because I dared to ask ONCE for help while my child screamed for milk and couldn't latch on. She was like this with all the mothers on my ward, wandering about roaring at people and being generally cruel and obstructive to their care. I complained about her behaviour and discharged myself the following day but on the notes, no mention was made of my complaint and no action was taken.

I'm sorry you had bad experiences but how was a ward "reminiscent of a magdalen laundry" . Were there young girls crying over carbolic soap and washing out their smalls while the nuns called them sluts? Seems like a bit of a cultural put down to be honest and a bit unnecessary.

Ok a magdalene laundry dormitory.
Have also heard that ward being described as like something from Tenko.

This is how it is described by Irish women by the way, seriously ask on any Irish Parenting website for a description of the big ward in unit 3.

There were a couple of nuns as well.

Fannyfifer that is seriously offensive to compare our maternity care with a third world country or a magdalane laundry...I have given birth in Holles St. I was visiting my sister in Dublin when 38 weeks when my baby died, a nicer more compassionate bunch you could never meet.

I gave birth to my other DS in the CUMH in Cork where I live. Again, first class care. Free too. Dont write the whole system off by the care YOU received.

Not just care I have received, family, friends, patients, I have worked in the Irish health service. A poor member of my family was in loughlinstown hospital for months, the most god forsaken place.

All hearsay, FannyFifer. Plenty of reports like that about the NHS too, and from people working in it as well (I do). Two of my inlaws work in the system in Ireland and have worked in England too and draw favourable comparisons for obstetric care.

What a load of bollocks. Something from Tenko? Did they all have dysentary and starve to death?
I had 2 midwives all to myself in my own room with my own birthing pool, ensuite, tv and small kitchen. All public and free. Bet you don't get that on your NHS.

Third world? Fuck off indeed. Romford anyone?

Fanny - i doubt you'd find many people who would argue that there are no problems with the irish health system, but i think the stats on obstetric care in ireland compare favorably with anywhere in the world, and are in fact a good deal better than uk stats if this is to be believed. i agree that general cleanliness at holles street leaves a good deal to be desired - or it did in 2009, anyway. but i think there are cleanliness issues with many nhs hospitals too, right? hence, you know, hospital related infections....

Have you considered just staying NHS and booking into somewhere just North of the border like Newry's Daisy Hill hospital? It's only an hour from Dublin so could be the easiest and cheapest option. Good luck whatever you decide.

We are having a massive baby boom in the middle of a huge recession. Our hospitals are overflowing while staff are being laid off.

Can't imagine healthcare tourists being much welcomed when women are being kicked out of hospitals early because there are no beds.

I had my baby three months ago. The poor staff were stressed up to their eyeballs terrified of having more emergencies than they could cater for and feeling horrible that there were not enough beds for women who had just given birth.

Not very fair for you to come over and take ever diminishing resources from a economy that you're not contributing to.

I had ds1 in Holles Street, terrible experience, we were alone most of the time and very unsympathetic midwives.
Now we live in Canada!
Anyway I hear great things about Daisy Hill hospital, that's a great idea. Best of luck to you.

Whatever you do, don't go to Holles Street, especially if the baby is due in the spring/summer baby season. It is a truly crappy hospital and the nurses are woman-haters one and all.

Forget about the Coombe too.

Otoh, Mount Carmel is fab.

Private is worth the money in Ireland. But I think Maryz's advice is very sound.

Poochy just on the subject of where 'home' is once your DCs start school, that is where home will be. Where they consider 'home' will be where home is. You will be sidelined to some extent in your own life.

Great idea about Daisy Hill! My million cousins have had their billion babies there. It could well be your answer.

Well I've had 3 in holles street and had excellent care each time. 1:1 care throughout each labour and my own room for 3 days after. I was private though. Cost about 4 grand. I would be wary of mount carmel. If there are complications you will just be transferred to holles street anyway. They like to try to deny this but it happened to 2 friends. 1 pre birth - twins at 30 weeks and another the baby was transferred post birth while the mother was left recovering from c section in mount carmel. Their food is nicer though if that's your main priority.

Thanks for all your advice :). Daisy Hill sounds good yes think it would be easier to stay in UK border will check it out.

Bobbledunk - i have contributed to Irelands economy for 10 years before moving to the UK so feel I would be well within my rights to use their resources. There's is alot of people over there bleeding from the state and have never contributed a cent.

mathanxiety - wouldn't consider moving home if could have my family around to support when due, definitely won't do it for DC3 if there is one. Had a horribly birth and recovery on DS1. Don't know how I would have coped without my parents over.

I have had two children in Holles St. (last one just three weeks ago) and I cannot fault it. Care was excellent both times, even though it was insanely busy. Wards and halls were spotless, and the staff were doing a fantastic job given the constraints they are under. I was also private however, and IMO, that does make a difference.

OP - I would caution against going down the private route unless you have insurance which will cover the full cost of the birth and any additional care requirements. I have yet to receive the full cost of DS2's birth but have received the accommodation bill and a private room is charged at ?1k per night. DS spent 5 days in the NICU, which cost ?900 per night. My consultant was another 4k for the antenatal care (ok you will not be paying for a full 9 months care but I reckon you could budget at least half of that) - so you can see how the costs mount up very easily.

How about staying here so that your DH can be with you and our little one and getting a doula? As much as I would like to be surrounded by my family, I cannot imagine myself depriving my DP of contact with the baby at such an early stage so I hired a post natal doula.
Of course, she won't replace your family but, she'll give you the emotional and practical support that you'll need.