1) Consider your birth preferences. In Cork you have so many different options. You can choose between hospital/Domino or Home birth service. Be informed and do your research - there is a lot of information online. 2) Know your midwife. When pregnancy is normal your midwife is the expert from start to finish. She/He will help you with any questions and everything that you need. 3) Be prepared from the start. Attend birth preparation classes at the right time. This is so impor

I had never contemplated volunteering for an NGO before. I had donated and bought thoughtful gifts for family and friends that helped people in need but I never thought of going somewhere myself. Something triggered my interest though when I saw an appeal by Nurture Project International on Facebook. They were looking for midwives and lactation consultants to help with the refugee crisis in Greece. Mainly Syrian, Turkish and Kurdish people who had fled their bombed and de

I never thought I would look back on 27 years of community home birth experience when I started midwifery in 1981 in Hannover, Germany. Even after qualifying , I thought hospitals were the safer option...'just in case'. But, in 1990, after our first daughter was born, I decided to come to Ireland and everything changed. I wasn't really sure how I wanted to work but the women of West Cork made it clear that they needed a different experience for their labours and births than t