News

Guidelines for Health Professionals working in Maternity settings on the Care of Women with Concealed Pregnancy published – Health Service Executive (HSE) and Crisis Pregnancy Agency

The Crisis Pregnancy Agency is pleased to make available its first guidelines for good practice. The new ‘Guidelines for Health Professionals working in Maternity Settings on the Care of Women with Concealed Pregnancy’ were authored by Ms Catherine Conlon and produced in cooperation with HSE professionals.

The Guidelines emerged from a study conducted by Ms. Conlon on concealed pregnancy in Ireland (CPA Research Report Number 15), and from a forum convened in Ballinasloe in April 2008 to address the issue. The Guidelines are effectively a Care Pathway that provides a protocol for health-care staff working in maternity settings to improve their capacity to recognise, make appropriate responses and understand and empathise with women who present concealing pregnancy.

To order a copy of the Guidelines, contact the Agency on 01 814 6292 or email info@crisispregnancy.ie.

Graduation Ceremony for First Year Graduates of the National University of Ireland Certificate in Crisis Pregnancy Counselling Skills

The Crisis Pregnancy Agency celebrated the graduates of the first certificate course in Crisis Pregnancy Counselling to be developed and delivered in Ireland on 25th November 2008 in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. The year-long, part-time certificate level, in-service training course is delivered by the Department of Adult and Community Education, NUI, Maynooth in partnership with the Agency. The Agency has funded the development and delivery of this course, including the participation of the graduates. The 30 graduates are based at crisis pregnancy counselling centres funded by the Agency throughout the country.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Katharine Bulbulia, Chair of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency said: "I would like to congratulate the 30 graduates on their achievement in completing the first certificate course specifically designed to set standards of good practice in crisis pregnancy counselling skills. The development of this course underscores the Agency’s commitment to ensuring that a high standard of counselling is available to all women who experience a crisis pregnancy; providing free, non-judgmental support. We hope that this course will not only assist the graduates in their work but will also enhance the delivery of crisis pregnancy counselling across the services they work in."

For more information click here.

 
Pictured at the Graduation Ceremony are the course graduates, Anne McCarthy, core tutor, Katharine Bulbulia, Chair, Crisis Pregnancy Agency and Professor Tom Collins, Head of Department and Dean of Teaching and Learning, NUI, Maynooth.

Toolkit: Establishing and Managing a Crisis Pregnancy Counselling Service

In conjunction with the development and delivery of the in-service training course in crisis pregnancy counselling skills, the Agency has also produced a resource for both newly established and existing crisis pregnancy counselling services.

The role of the ‘Toolkit: Establishing and Managing a Crisis Pregnancy Counselling Service’ (the ‘Toolkit’) is to provide a framework and guidelines to assist crisis pregnancy counselling services with planning, management, service delivery and operational processes. Guidance and information relating to good governance, strategic planning and consistency in delivery are the pillars that underpinned the concept, development and content of the resource.

Though the ‘Toolkit’ is not designed as a one stop shop for service set up and delivery; it provides information and support on a key range of topics that are relevant to crisis pregnancy counselling services, both well established and proposed. The content is based on best practice in ‘Toolkit’ development for the health sector and on the experiences of exiting services funded by the Agency. The Agency would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the consultation process. Copies of the ‘Toolkit’ will be made available in the near future to crisis pregnancy counselling services funded by the Agency.

For more information about the ‘Toolkit’ please contact Sarah Ryan, Functional Manager on 01 814 62 92 or email sryan@crisispregnancy.ie. 
 

Funding Call 2007 – IFPA Speakeasy Pilot Programme Launch and Graduation Ceremony

The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) launched the pilot ‘Speakeasy’ sexual health education programme for parents at a graduation ceremony for course participants on 19th November 2008. This pilot project was one of a number of pilots funded under the Agency’s nationally advertised 2007 Funding Call. The pilot was delivered to 31 parents in four groups at community based settings in Dublin and Limerick. The programme was externally evaluated and was found to have achieved its objective of enabling parents to speak positively to their children about sex and relationships.

The IFPA’s Director of Counselling and Training Services, Rosie Toner, congratulated the participants for their success on completing the programme and noted that ‘‘attitudes towards sex education have greatly changed in Ireland, we know from research that children cope better with their emerging sexuality when parents are supportive and willing to speak openly and frankly to their children about issues such as sex, sexuality and contraception. Through your participation in the Speakeasy programme I know you have all developed the skill to speak to your children confidently and positively about sex and relationships and I know it will be of benefit to them in their future lives’’.

The Agency is hopeful that initiatives of this nature can be rolled out across the country in the future as they provide an important support and adjunct to the delivery of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. 

Copies of the evaluation report are available from the IFPA. Please contact Kris Lake on 01 806 9444 or email kristen@ifpa.ie.

Crisis Pregnancy Agency and Department of Education and Science (DoES) award contract to Trinity College for work to support the delivery of Relationships and Sexual Education (RSE) for post-primary students

In October, the Agency and the DoES requested tenders to develop a literature review addressing external support for school-based sex education provided by personnel or agencies other than regular teaching staff, geared towards post-primary students and appropriate to the Irish setting. The tender was awarded to the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the School of Social Policy, TCD. The work is expected to commence immediately and to be completed by April next year.

This project is envisaged as a first stage in a wider project to progress the further development of existing guidelines in relation to ‘outside facilitators’ or ‘visitors’ for Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in the context of Social, Personal Health Education (SPHE), for post-primary schools. The Agency will work in partnership with the DoES to progress this wider aim.

Development of Guidelines to assist Crisis Pregnancy Counsellors working with Clients with Intellectual Disabilities

In October, the Agency and the National Disability Authority (NDA) requested tenders for a literature review and international comparison of best practice in relation to women with an intellectual disability who experience crisis pregnancy. The literature review is envisaged as a first step in a wider project of developing ‘Guidelines to assist Crisis Pregnancy Counsellors and GPs working with clients with an Intellectual Disability’. The contract was awarded to Ms. Joan O’ Connor, an independent researcher, and work has commenced on the project with a completion date set for February 2009. 

Geographical Information System (GIS) Mapping of Projected Service Demand – Crisis Pregnancy Counselling and Post-Termination Services

As part of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency's Strategy, "Leading An Integration Approach To Reducing Crisis Pregnancy 2007-2011", the Agency is in the process of commissioning research to quantify the need for crisis pregnancy and post-abortion services nationally. This will be based on a number of criteria such as population data, deprivation indices and other health and service related indicators and these findings will be compared to the prevailing level of services delivered in order to inform any future service developments in this area.

The aim of the research is to provide the Agency and relevant stakeholders with a robust evidence base to support both the planning and development of crisis pregnancy and post-abortion services on a national basis in the future. Submissions are being reviewed at present and the Agency plans to award the contract in 2008, with work commencing in January 2009.