Maternity hospitals are not predicting a baby boom this year.
It comes after speculation that 2021 would see an influx of new babies as a result of previous lockdowns.
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The Rotunda expects the number of babies born in the first six months of the year to increase by just 4.5 per cent compared to last year.
The National Maternity Hospital says there was a small increase of three per cent of the number of 12-week scans carried out last year compared to 2019.
Self-employed Midwife Aine Hennessy says meeting the new-found demand for home births is difficult.
Ms Hennessy said: “Unfortunately we only have 20 midwives nationally working in this service, so the fact is we have to turn women away because midwives are fully booked."
