Minister for Health opens refurbished Labour and Birthing Facility at The National Maternity Hospital during Women’s Health Week
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 7 March 2022
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Today, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly opened a newly refurbished Labour and Birthing unit at The National Maternity Hospital in Dublin. A dedicated bereavement suite and hydrotherapy pool as well as a state-of-the-art specialised room to care for immunocompromised patients have also been built. This opening marks the beginning of the first ‘Women’s Health Week’.
Minister Donnelly said:
"I am delighted to be at The National Maternity Hospital on the first day of ‘Women’s Health Week’. Promoting Women’s Health is a key pillar of the broader health agenda under the Programme for Government. The investment and developments we are seeing across the system, including the unit we are opening today, ensure that we can deliver the improved services that women deserve and expect, both now and into the future. This facility will also provide a modern, comfortable, and sensitive setting required for the delivery of excellent and compassionate care for women and their families, including those experiencing difficult outcomes."
This facility represents a significant and very positive development for women’s healthcare in the National Maternity Hospital and has been developed in line with the National Maternity Strategy’s vision, to offer a service that is woman centred, safe, and provides a choice of care that is delivered with dignity and respect.
The National Maternity Hospital (NMH) is one of the largest maternity hospitals in Ireland, incorporating Maternity, Gynaecology, Neonatology, Community Midwifery Services, Anaesthetics, Fetal Medicine, Fertility, Pathology, Radiology, Maternal Medicine, Perinatal Mental Health, National Neonatal Transfer Service and Urogynaecology. The National Maternity Hospital is also where Ireland’s first dedicated menopause clinic was opened late last year.
The Hospital provides maternity care for over 7,000 women who give birth annually. In line with the National Maternity Strategy, there are care pathways to meet the varying needs of women, including supportive care and community midwifery care, to specialist pathways for women who require care for high-risk pregnancy.
It is anticipated that this newly extended and refurbished labour and birthing unit will benefit thousands of patients every year until the hospital’s move to Elm Park.
Notes
Photo and caption
Professor Shane Higgins, Master of the Maternity Hospital, Martina Cronin, Labour and Birthing Unit Manager (via Facetime) and Minister Donnelly at the launch of the refurbished Labour and Birthing Unit, National Maternity Hospital, Holles St, Dublin
Developments in Maternity Care
- +13 additional maternity services offering the supported care pathway
- increase from just 6 services in 2016
- antenatal midwifery clinics for normal risk women now provided in all 19 maternity services
- in 2020 174 midwifery led clinics are being held per week across the country
- over half of these clinics were provided in the community, across 59 different locations
- these clinics provide continuity of care to women by midwives during their pregnancy journey
- in 2020, 13 maternity services provided early transfer home services, with many services providing this care option to women being discharged from any of the 3 care pathways (supported, assisted & specialised)