OUR EXPERTS
Deirdre O’Leary Vos is a registered midwife, home birth midwife, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and tongue tie practitioner.
She graduated in the Netherlands, a country globally renowned as providing outstanding maternity care, and spent the early years of her career there, where she became highly experienced as both a home birth and hospital midwife. Since moving back to Ireland in 2016, she has gone on to obtain various other accreditations and developed expertise on providing optimal care within the Irish healthcare system. Deirdre is also a mother of three, and lives in West Cork with them and her husband, Jeroen.
Throughout her years as a midwife, Deirdre has come into contact with many babies and mums having difficulties breastfeeding, leading to her interest in this area as one requiring further research, promotion and resources. She has more than 11 years’ experience in breastfeeding support, and achieved expert status in this role after becoming a fully-qualified IBCLC lactation consultant in 2019.
Deirdre completed her training as a tongue tie practitioner in 2018, becoming a professional member of the International Affiliation of Tongue-tie Professionals, and has since been performing tongue tie release (frenotomy) procedures on babies, helping them and their mothers overcome a wide range of issues that can otherwise disrupt these crucial early months. The procedure itself is minimally invasive, and Deirdre has attended numerous international courses and seminars and consulted with globally-acclaimed pioneers of the field to further refine her expertise and ensure the best possible outcome for baby and mother.
She continues to release tongue ties and support mothers and babies in Tongue Tie Cork at Cork Children’s Clinic on the Model Farm Road, and Dr Fiona O’Reilly’s Clinic, 12 Emmet Square, Clonakilty.
Deirdre also continues to enjoy her role as home birth midwife in Cork, with mothers who are interested in a more personal, family-centred approach to maternity care. She provides antenatal visits in her clinic or in the mother’s own home, as well as valuable, empowering guidance through birth, with top rated postnatal care and lactation support for up to 6 weeks following birth.
For more information, visit her midwifery website: westcorkmidwiferycare.ie
and her tongue tie website: tonguetiecork.ie
Dr. Alexander T O’Mahony MPharm, MPSI, MB BCh BAO
Alex completed his master’s degree in pharmacy in 2012 and has over 8 years’ experience working in the community. As a community pharmacist he has held several positions including relief, support, supervising and managerial.
In 2019 he graduated as a medical doctor and has been practicing in the Cork area. He has worked in Cork University Hospital, Mercy University Hospital, South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, and the Bon Secour hospital across a number of disciplines including Respiratory medicine, Rheumatology, Clinical Microbiology, Colorectal and Orthopaedic surgery.
He has presented research at national and international level on topics such as hospital acquired infection and the role of colonoscopy in our national colorectal cancer bowel screening programme.
Currently he is in the final stage of his membership examinations for induction to the royal college of physicians in Ireland and is also studying part-time a post-graduate diploma through NUIG in Multidisciplinary Radiology.
Credentials
Master of Pharmacy, The Robert Gordon University
Member of the Pharmaceutical Society Ireland
Bachelor of Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics, University College Cork
Dr. Jennifer McInerney MB BCh BAO (Hons) ST3 Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Jennifer is a Specialist Registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She graduated in 2014 from University College Cork (MB BCh BAO) and currently works in the NHS. Having started out as a physiotherapist in 2008, she returned to university to study medicine with the aim of specialising in the field of women’s health. She has used her experiences as a physio to develop a holistic approach to her antenatal and postnatal care. She is passionate about providing factual and evidence-based information to mummies in order to support women through their pregnancy journey. Jennifer is also a mummy to a lively 3-year-old girl and cheeky 1.5-year-old boy!
Melissa Byrne is a Registered Dietitian working privately and in the HSE in West Cork BSc (Hons)
Melissa graduated with honours from Trinity College Dublin from the Human Nutrition and Dietetics degree. Upon graduating Melissa worked in Dublin in large teaching hospitals before making the switch to the community setting in West Cork. Melissa has always had a keen interest in nutrition for mothers and babies which was heightened when she had her own little girl, and she is currently pregnant again herself.
Michelle Maher is a Chartered Physiotherapist specialising in the area of Women’s Health BSc (Hons) BSc
She graduated in 2010 from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (BSc Physio) and currently works in the HSE. Michelle initially graduated from the University of Limerick in Sports & Exercise Science in 2007 and she uses this expertise in caring for her patients. Michelle has worked in Women’s Health since she graduated and has carried out numerous postgraduate courses I this area. She is hugely passionate about all things pelvic health and empowering women through knowledge and education. She feels that a lot of women are going through issues that are very common but not normal and certainly not something that they should have to put up with. Michelle provides antenatal and postnatal care and some of the conditions she treats include pelvic girdle pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, incontinence and prolapse. Michelle is also a mom to 3 gorgeous, busy kids; a 7 year old girl and 4 and 1 year old boys.
Emma Tobin Bmed SCi MB Bch BAO NUI(Hons) MicGP DRCOG IBCLC
[General Practitioner and Lactation Consultant]
Emma is a GP and a lactation consultant. She lives in Rosscarbery with her husband and two children. She qualified from UCC in 2005 and has worked in an array of specialities including obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, neonates, psychiatry, and accident and emergency. She is passionate about women’s health and with her extensive training and personal experience she is invaluable to new and expectant mums along with their partners. She breast fed both her boys to ‘toddlerhood’ and beyond and is aware of all the difficulties and rewards that comes with this novation as well as normalizing obstetric care.
Credentials
University College Cork, undergraduate medical degree 2005
Diploma in Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2011
Member of Irish College of General Practitioners 2013
Internation Board Certified Lactation Consultant 2019
Doireann O'Keeffe GP Paediatrics and General Practice. IBCLC DOWH DCH
Doireann O'Keeffe is a GP who is trained both in Paediatrics and General Practice. She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and has a Diploma in Obstetrics and Women's Health (DOWH) and a Diploma in Child Health (DCH). She is also a very busy mum of 4 kids!
She graduated from Trinity College in 2002 and became a Member of the Irish College of General Practitioners in 2008, and a Member of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 2010, in the subspecialty of Paediatrics. She has 10 years experience working in Paediatrics, and now works as a GP, where she puts all that experience to good use in the community! Up until very recently she also worked one day a week in the Paediatric Emergency Department to continue her passion for Paediatrics.
Doireann spends a lot of her professional (and personal) life, helping and advising expectant mothers, and new parents! She has a very holistic yet practical approach to helping with the big adjustment to parenthood and support parents as they navigate their way through the early years and beyond.
Dr Clodagh Campbell, The Wellness Psychologist
DCounsPych MA BSc
Clodagh is one of Ireland's leading Wellness Psychologists and Mental Health Experts, having obtained her doctoral degree from Trinity College, Dublin. She has worked with clients across the lifespan, in settings such as hospitals, outpatient psychiatric clinics and women’s therapy centres, where she has provided individual and group therapy, assessment, multidisciplinary consultation and wellness workshops. She has specialist interests in mental health, perinatal mental health, wellness, trauma, self-worth and adoption, and is passionate about empowering individuals to live their happiest and most fulfilled lives. Clodagh is an engaging and entertaining public speaker, who has also been making waves as one of Ireland's most popular Psychologists on Social Media over the past 12 months.