Madam, - Following on from the Supreme Court judgment on Wednesday, I am baffled as to why the health boards are denying parents a real choice in the area of home births.
Healthy women are being forced into an unnecessarily expensive, medicalised procedure in overcrowded hospitals for what is, after all, a natural process.
Most other countries in the Western world encourage women to have babies at home. This is because birthing can be done at home safely and more economically with the use of professional midwives.
If we followed this lead, we would reduce the cost of births to the heath boards and increase the value for money we get as taxpayers.
We read constantly read of financial problems in the health services; in this area at least can some common sense prevail? - Yours, etc.,
ALAN WYLEY,
Beech Park Avenue,
Dublin 18.