'It was heartbreaking to attend a fertility appointment in a maternity unit'
A woman who has spent a decade undergoing IVF treatment attended a gynecology appointment located within a maternity unit, which she described as heartbreaking. She is urging that fertility and gynecology services be separated from maternity areas, citing emotional distress. Several health trusts in Northern Ireland have responded, with some already operating separate facilities and others planning changes.
- ▪Niamh Smyth, after ten years of IVF attempts, was directed to a gynecology appointment inside the Ulster Hospital's maternity unit, causing her significant emotional upset.
- ▪The South Eastern Trust announced plans to relocate its outpatient gynecology services away from the maternity unit in the coming months.
- ▪Other health trusts, such as Belfast and Southern, already provide fertility services in dedicated or standalone clinics separate from maternity wards.
- ▪The incident has sparked broader discussion about the placement of fertility services, with calls for inclusion in the Department of Health's Women's Health Strategy.
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| Original publisher | BBC News — UK |
| Canonical URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgv2e44zx4o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss |
| Publication time | Wed, 29 Jul 2026 23:00:10 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-29T23:08:07.323Z |
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'It was heartbreaking to attend a fertility appointment in a maternity unit'Image caption, Niamh Smyth said she was shocked to find out where she had been directed to go when looking for the gynaecology departmentByEvie McKinneyBBC News NI Published7 minutes agoA woman who has been on a 10-year IVF journey is calling for fertility and gynaecology appointments to be separated from maternity services in some hospitals following her "heartbreaking" experience.Niamh Smyth and her husband Justyn have spent over a decade trying to start a family, undergoing four rounds of IVF (In vitro fertilisation), with three unsuccessful attempts and one pregnancy which ended in miscarriage.After nearly five years on a gynaecology waiting list, Smyth attended her appointment in May in the Ulster Hospital in…
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