A HIQA report into maternity care in the community is emphasising the importance of women in Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim receiving the same level of maternity care as those in urban centres.
The report, just published, is part of the National Maternity Experience Survey 2020.
This report shows that most new mothers surveyed were positive about the care and support they received.
However, some women felt more information was needed on the changes they would experience in their mental and physical health, as well as on their nutritional needs during pregnancy.
The survey also found a significant variation in attendance at the two-week post-natal check-up.
Nationally, almost 85% of women attend for this check-up with their GP.
However, the figure was only 44.4% in Donegal, 46.3% in Leitrim and 47.1% in Sligo.
When asked if sufficient time was spent discussing physical health at 6-week check-ups, more than 52% of women in Donegal said ‘yes’, but the figure was only 41.5% in Leitrim and 36.8% in Sligo.
When it came to whether adequate time was spent discussing mental health, 44.4% in Donegal said ‘yes’, 33.8% agreed in Sligo and only 31.7% in Leitrim.
The proportion of women who said their questions were ‘always’ answered by a GP, practice nurse or midwife in a way they understood varied from almost 60% in Sligo to more than 70% in the counties of Leitrim and Donegal.
The report is based on a survey of more than 6,000 new mothers in February and March last year.
The report may be found at www.yourexperience.ie
