So, you have found out that you are pregnant – huge congratulations!
You are probably now wondering what kind of hospital care will best suit you – and if you should use the public health system, go semi-private or fully private.
The range of maternity services on each tier above varies from hospital to hospital, so a good starting point would be to ask friends and family that you trust for any advice or recommendations before you attend your first GP appointment.
You and your GP will discuss your choices and might also fill out a form for Combined GP and Hospital Care at this visit, so it would be good to have a hospital in mind at that point.
Which care package you then choose at that point is the next decision you’ll need to make.
Here is what opting for Public Maternity Care would mean for you (via AvivaHealth.ie):
Cost
1. All medical and accommodation needs are provided free of charge.
Antenatal care
2. You will attend the hospital for your antenatal appointments and if you do choose combined care, will see your GP for about half of your antenatal checks.
3. Some hospitals run midwife clinics in the hospital and community midwife clinics in local health centres, and women whose pregnancies are considered low risk may be transferred to the care of midwives.
4. If you are seeing a doctor / obstetrician, you may not see the same one at every antenatal hospital visit.
5. You will generally get 8 to 10 visits in total, including your ‘booking in’ appointment when you have blood tests.
6. Every hospital has different policies when it comes to giving women ultrasound scans during pregnancy and some may not be able to afford to offer you as many as you would like, but it is now possible to have scans done in private centres.
Your baby’s birth
7. The hospital midwives will help you to deliver your baby. If your labour becomes more complicated, you will be aided by an obstetrician and his or her team. If you choose to have an epidural, the hospital anaesthetist will attend to you.
Postnatal care
8. After your baby is born, you will be moved to a public ward which can be busy at visiting times. Some hospitals offer an Early Transfer Home Scheme (ETHS) with postnatal visits at home. Your GP and hospital will provide you and your baby with postnatal care up to and including the six-week check.
The pros of public care
9. It won’t cost you anything and you won’t get inferior medical care by choosing public care.
The cons of public care
10. If you visit a doctor in hospital, you may need to queue; there may be fewer scans and you may not know the midwives who help you give birth.
For information specific to your hospital of choice, you will find a list of services available on each maternity hospital website.
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