National Maternity Hospital, Dublin

Making babies on Lunchtime Live.

Professor Shane Higgins, consultant and obstetrician and gynaecologist at the National Maternity Hospital at Hollis Street is with me in studio today.

Shane, how's things? Of course, we were down at Hollis Street last Wednesday for a special programme and great to be able to see, you know, what happens inside the facility.

Like it's a huge operation.

But if you're worried, go and get a scan in your local hospital.

They'll give you all the reassurance you need that everything's fine.

Professor Shane Higgins, Consultant, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the National Maternity Hospital at Hallow Street.

Shane, thanks a million for joining us here on Making Babies.

with Andrea Gilligan on Newstalk.

Now, if you're a regular listener to this show, you know, every Wednesday we're making babies with Professor Shane Higgins, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist here at the National Maternity Hospital.

So this Wednesday is no different, Shane, except we've well, we brought the show to you today rather than you coming.

coming to

But you're going to tell us a little bit about this iconic building, because from the moment we arrived with the team here this morning, you can nearly feel the history, Shane, when you come in the door.

Absolutely, Andrea.

And I think the National Maternity Hospital has been part of not just the Dublin landscape, but the Irish landscape for well over 100 years.

There was a hospital on this site in 1883 and it only survived nine years.

with Andrea Gilligan on Newstalk.

To kick us off this afternoon, I'm joined in our studio by the Master of the National Maternity Hospital.

Professor Jenny Walsh is with me.

Good afternoon, Jenny.

you're the master of here.

So you've come full circle in Hollistreet.

I have, and I think a lot of us have that feeling towards Hollistreet, or the National Maternity Hospital, this sort of legacy or this loyalty, as would be a better word, where we have such fond memories and such an attachment to this place and this building.

It's iconic.

News Talk.

A little later than usual, but every Wednesday, Professor Shane Higgins, who's a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the National Maternity Hospital, joins us in studio to answer all of our listeners' maternity and fertility questions.

Today, though, Shane, as listeners know, we're here at Hollis Street.

where you're going to continue to do what you usually do 087 1400 106 that is the whatsapp number okay listeners wondering shane if the digital ovulation tests are always accurate as in are they sure that ovulation is actually occurring when they predict the lh surge

It's very difficult to know what you do and don't want until you actually start to experience it.

And patients who have said, I don't want an epidural are often patients who are looking for one once they come into the hospital.

But, you know, if you have things that you'd like to discuss with your caregiver about, for example, delayed cord clamping, which is standard practice now in the National Maternity Hospital, bring it up, write it down, bring it in and discuss it.

Listen, you'll be back with us next Wednesday, 12.40, as always, for Make and Babies to answer all of our listeners' maternity and fertility questions.

with Andrea Gilligan on Newstalk.

A little later than usual, but every Wednesday, Professor Shane Higgins, who's a consultant, obstetrician and gynaecologist at the National Maternity Hospital, joins us in studio to answer all of our listeners' maternity and fertility questions.

Today, though, Shane, as listeners know, we're here at Hollistreet.

where you're going to continue to do what you usually do 087 1400 106 that is the whatsapp number okay listeners wondering shane if the digital ovulation tests are always accurate as in are they sure that ovulation is actually occurring when they predict the lh surge

It's very difficult to know what you do and don't want until you actually start to experience it.

And patients who have said, I don't want an epidural are often patients who are looking for one once they come into the hospital.

But, you know, if you have things that you'd like to discuss with your caregiver about, for example, delayed cord clamping, which is standard practice now in the National Maternity Hospital, bring it up, write it down, bring it in and discuss it.

Listen, you'll be back with us next Wednesday, 12.40, as always, for Make and Babies to answer all of our listeners' maternity and fertility questions.

around 10 to 15 percent of women and symptoms can include difficulty bonding with the baby persistent low moods or frequent crying severe anxiety feelings of guilt and trouble sleeping this can sometimes start as baby blues and for many it can resolve as time goes on but for others it can develop into more serious and long-lasting mental health issues And I think crucially symptoms can appear over the course of the first year at any point, sometimes peaking or emerging after six months.

So for women who are struggling with this, there are six specialist hubs in maternity hospitals around the country, the National Maternity Hospital, Coombe Hospital and the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, as well as the maternity hospitals in Cork, Limerick and Galway.

And the other 13 maternity hospitals across the country are staffed by perinatal mental health midwives that can deal with less complex cases.

As you say, this is not the baby blues.

Yeah, so we took a look at the six specialist hubs that I mentioned earlier and we wanted to see kind of how they were coping with the increased demands for services.

And what we found was actually that five of them have tightened their acceptance criteria in recent years.

So that's the National Maternity Hospital, the Rotunda, Macomb, Cork and Limerick have all now stopped accepting referrals for women if they're six months after birth.

They will see women up to a year, but only if you've been referred before that six month mark.