I once read some outlandish statistic about the odds of any one of us ever being born. The fact that we exist at all is a stunning miracle of creation. Just think of all the generations of men and women that came together to produce the next generation, leading to each of us. Think of the millions of things that could have gone wrong, not just in the 20th century but the third century, or 5,000 years before the birth of Christ. That urge to survive, no matter what, won out and here we are today.

Like anything that’s common, sometimes we seem to undervalue the miracle of new life. It’s heading for 30 years ago since I had our twins and the right to life and pro-choice voices were both very strident at the time. Now they are raised again.

The level of support by the Citizens Assembly for an extensive liberalisation of the abortion laws has certainly surprised me. That a good percentage also agreed to abortion up to 22 weeks was perfectly shocking. Our parliamentarians are now left to decide the next steps. It will not be easy.

As soon as the news became public, the agreement between Holles Street, the National Maternity Hospital, and the Sisters of Charity and St Vincent’s Hospital was always going to be contentious. Handing ownership of the €300m facility to the Sisters of Charity without sight of the agreement behind it is not a runner. There is a pressing need for a state-of-the-art maternity hospital that’s co-located on the site of a major teaching hospital. It’s the least pregnant mothers and their babies should expect. The options for where this can be done are far and few between. The St Vincent’s and Holles Street link-up is a perfect solution.

Dr Rhona Mahony, the master of Holles Street, believes the agreement allows for full independence for the maternity hospital to provide all services that are legal in the country. She says the agreement provides for the operational, financial and clinical independence of the new maternity hospital. But it’s hard to see how this could be. The Sisters of Charity will own the hospital and the management company that will run it. They will have four nominees on the nine-person board. They are what they are – a religious community of the Catholic Church. They have no choice but to honour the ethos and rules of that church when it comes to this new maternity hospital. What will happen on Thursday when the board of the St Vincent’s Hospital group meets to decide its next move will be very informative.

While there are many issues regarding the start of life, it can be equally complicated as one reaches old age. Who will do the caring is something that will concern every family in the country at one stage or another. In this week’s Irish Country Living, our health writer Margaret Hawkins looks at what to expect from carers (14-15), while on page 11 Maria Moynihan has advice on self-caring for carers. Then on pages 12-13 Ciara Leahy looks at 10 assistive devices that could help make remaining at home an option for many.

Finally, no sign of our cuckoo yet. I’d love to hear if they’ve landed near you.