October 06, 2002

Prenatal education in Kilkenny, Ireland

Ah, Kilkenny, Ireland!

The workshop here has been interesting. A number of midwives from Waterford had to pullout because of the “vomiting virus” that has struck their hospital. This is a virus, apparently endemic in Ireland at certain times of the year, with symptoms that sound a lot like food poisoning. It is highly contagious and when people come to hospital because of dehydration from the vomiting etc it can then be spread throughout the hospital. If it is found in the hospital, staff are not allowed to attend programs elsewhere for fear of carrying the virus with them and in extreme cases, hospitals have to be closed down temporarily until free of the virus.

It is clear that prenatal education has still a long way to go in Ireland. The whole maternity system here is very much dominated by obstetricians (the old “active management” extends beyond the woman to the midwives as well) and midwifery is just starting to establish itself as an entity in some places. Waterford has the only midwifery led unit in this part of the country, but there are some stirrings in other places as well. Many women have to travel to give birth in centralised hospitals, so classes have to cater for women to will give birth away from their home town.

The formats of the classes varies a lot but several people in the group explained they do only two sessions which is hardly adequate. Most programs cater for women only with perhaps a fathers night at the end, and the idea of doing small group work (or interactive exercises and activities) is new and a bit daunting for them.

Private care is very common in Ireland, and when I explained Sally Tracy’s research on the outcomes for women with private care they were a bit shocked and adamant that they couldn’t mention this kind of research in their classes because it would upset the doctors! I initiated a discussion about informed consent and the role of the educator as the member of the team who makes sure women have the necessary information to inform their decisions. This was a new concept and one which caused a degree of discomfort. The Irish are used to authority figures ruling the roost and there is a general pattern of strong beliefs and opinions that people are keen to express. If someone has an opinion that is different from the prevailing views, it could be very hard for them to get a hearing, so change is slow, especially when it involves challenging medical practice.

There is no midwives association or organisation in Ireland, and this will need to change if midwifery is to get the recognition it deserves. Midwives here are very much a part of nursing, and it is interesting that there seems to be no movement to establish a separate identity. The relationship between doctors and nurses is as hierarchical as ever.....

Posted by andrea at October 06, 2002 05:55 PM

Comments

You may find it interesting to visit the sites about poker card, casino no deposit, online casino casions, gambling cash, blackjack sites, roulette casions, gamble tip, internet casino web, slot machine odds, online casino bonus deposit, online gamble game, casino gambling strategies, casino game strategies, las vegas table, video poker casinos, roulette online card, slot rule, blackjack online deposit, blackjack betting 3d, poker 888, gambling 8888, blackjack tip, poker on net, casino casions, casino gaming, gambling no deposit. .

Posted by: blackjack on January 19, 2004 08:15 AM

Comments

You may find it interesting to check the pages in the field of phentermine effect, zyban tablet, viagra cream, propecia for woman, online pharmacy prescriptions, tramadol mens, ultram 400mg, wellbutrin resistance, paxil overnight, meridia comparing, zyrtec online, xenical cheap, vioxx 12 5mg, vaniqa dosage, retin a canada pharmacy, prozac on line, generic viagra 10 pills, celexa woman, buy phentermine addiction, xenical capsules, ambien substitute, dilenyoung about, hopforyou pills, kip980 perscription medication, mng765 what is, pol_uri facts, piter_gordon mail order, miss20092000 2 month supply, robert_zed2003 fasten, fp292003 men, diagodream supplements, jacglen2003 can i, lisa_plamer products, gill_bern review, gtrgtr45 100mg, poklop2000 men`s, nolzer12 men`s, rtopopi mail order pharmacy, oklokol for woman, racertroy2003 information on, viagra information about, phentermine alternative. .

Posted by: fp292003 on January 21, 2004 02:06 PM