The largest maternity hospital in the State has backed down from its decision to allow consultants on public-only contracts to treat patients privately on site. The Rotunda’s master, Prof Seán Daly, had defended the practice, saying pregnant women deserve “choice”. The master of the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street backed the Rotunda by calling on the Government to consider allowing new consultant obstetricians to secure public-private contracts.The public-only contracts, which consultants have been able to sign up to since 2023, commit signatories to doing only public work in public hospitals. Any private work must take place outside of rostered hours away from the public facility. Consultants on older contracts can continue to provide private care at public hospitals.There are no private maternity hospitals in the State since the Dublin-based Mount Carmel unit closed in 2014.The Irish Times asked its readers to share their experiences with the State’s maternity hospitals through the public or private system. Here’s what some of them said:Tamara Fitzpatrick, Co MeathTamara Fitzpatrick, from Co Meath, says she could not be more grateful for the care she received in the public health system. She is pictured with her daughter Eden Tamara Fitzpatrick gave birth to a girl in the Coombe Hospital eight weeks ago. Eden is her fifth child under a public care system she could not be more grateful for.“I wanted continuity of care and to be able to connect with and trust my healthcare providers, and I got all of this in the public system,” she says.She suffered a bleed behind her left eye on her fourth pregnancy and there was concern over the possibility of a bleeding disorder on her fifth. She says the care she received each time was “second to none”.“As a seasoned mother of five, private maternity care is unnecessary in my opinion. Any care you need you will receive in the public system and I’m proof of that.”Esther Walsh, Co DublinEsther Walsh Esther Walsh gave birth to her son Rupert in 2021. Although she had health insurance, she chose a public midwife. She felt there were issues with the lack of staff continuity in the public system.“I met a different midwife at every appointment,” she says. She had a difficult birth with Rupert, enduring a 40-hour labour with “every possible intervention” before undergoing a Caesarean section. “To this day I still don’t know who performed the surgery,” she says.[ Eight women under private care by public-only consultants at Rotunda to switch doctorsOpens in new window ]To deliver her second son, Kit, Walsh wanted a “different experience”, so she decided to go private. She is glad she did and praises her obstetrician for caring for her at her most vulnerable and for tweaking medication as needed.“Every moment I spent in that private room, alone with my baby and my husband undid the trauma of my first son’s birth,” she said.Lucie Revay, Co WexfordLucie Revay has gone through the public system twice: once in the Rotunda in 2021 and once in Wexford General Hospital in 2024. For her first pregnancy she felt “very rushed” and as though she was “just a number”.“The care was very anonymous. I could tell that most of the doctors and nurses were trying to doing their best, but they were just too busy,” says Revay.Her second time around, in Wexford, the journey was “much more relaxed”. She says this was partially because she knew what was happening, but it was also because she felt the staff were not as rushed. “I could remember their faces and they remembered mine; we had a much closer relationship.” Kym Daly, Co Limerick As an IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) patient Kym Daly chose private maternity care in October 2024. Expecting again this year, she has the same consultant and fears the recent news.Daly says she is “very pro public system” but until Ireland can match the experience her friend has in Brussels’s public system, she does not see the shift to public-only consultants as an entirely positive thing.“I am so worried to hear this choice will be removed. I feel the public care needs to improve dramatically before private is phased out,” she says.Daly says she worries the complete shift to public care would be “carnage”.Having spent more than €80,000 to become pregnant through IVF, she says she cannot imagine not paying an extra €4,000 for private maternity care. Julianne O’Sullivan, Co DublinJulianne O’Sullivan switched from semi-private to private delivering her first baby in the National Maternity Hospital last January.After making “many sacrifices” to afford the private consultant bill, she had “the delivery of my dreams”.[ Rotunda Hospital board agrees to Minister’s demands over public-only consultantsOpens in new window ]She believes women should have the ability to choose between public, semi-private and private.“This would be moot if there was a private hospital, but there isn’t, and still that would exclude women who live too far away to come and go frequently,” she says.“I know I am privileged to afford private care, and if I didn’t have the ability to spend €4,500 I would most likely think differently, but why is it always women who have to make the sacrifices and have their wishes and needs disregarded?” Maria Galas, Co KildareMaria Galas has given birth three times through the public system: in 2020, 2022 and 2025.Her experience with all three pregnancies at Holles Street was “very positive”.The first time around, Galas felt she was “in good hands”, the second time she experienced continuity of care by being seen by the same midwife for “almost” all her appointments. During her third pregnancy she was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (severe pregnancy nausea and vomiting) and had to spend a couple of nights in the hospital for fluids and monitoring.“I was closely monitored and all concerns [were] addressed appropriately,” she says.“The midwife I talked to and the mental health support I received were very valuable as they gave me peace of mind and eased my anxiety surrounding the birth experience I had.”Aoife O’Connell, Co WicklowDue to the “considerable cost” of private care, Aoife O’Connell chose the public, midwife-led Domino (domiciliary in and out) scheme at the National Maternity Hospital in 2024.“The care from the Domino team was exceptional. I truly could not believe it was a free service. The [community-based] appointments were always on time and five minutes from my house,” says O’Connell.Giving birth in April 2025, she says it was a “largely positive experience with exceptional care from two midwives”.“Despite having some complications near the end of the birth with a ventouse (vacuum) delivery, episiotomy and meconium aspiration, I felt in completely safe hands the entire time.”O’Connell commends the follow-up care as “incredible” and would recommend the service to anyone who can avail of it.Katie, Co DublinKatie (no surname given) is going semi-private expecting her first baby this August.She says she has had to sit in “packed” waiting rooms to get bloods and blood pressure taken.The staff have “all be very lovely to deal with, but they are clearly under immense pressure to get through everyone”, she says.“The only [continuity] of care is the receptionist. If I had a history of complications in pregnancy I would beg, borrow and steal to afford private care because semi-private would not suffice.”“As I get closer to full term I am concerned about busy labour wards and how stress will impact my baby’s delivery.”Orla, Co TipperaryOrla (no surname given), who is hoping to start having children in the next couple of years, says she is “so disappointed and concerned” by the news of public-only obstetric consultants.“I want the option of private care, as the quality of care is much higher in the sense of consultant care,” she says.She has heard of other women’s experience with “nursing-led as opposed to consultant-led” public maternity care, receiving a lack of scans and meeting different consultants for each scan.“I am really not happy about the stance the Government have taken on this, I have a right to spend my money on what I think is best for me.”