Our family just found out some surprising and exciting news. I'm pregnant and am 3 months along! We plan to have the baby in Ireland before going back to the US. I am interested to find out how the maternity care is here. I have been to two appointments at the national maternity hospital and it is more midwife lead as opposed to doctor lead like in the US.
Maternity care is free in Ireland for public care. You can pay for semi private or private care where you see the same consultant/doctor and will have a room where you share with another patient or a private room. We opted for the semi private care. I wanted to see the same consultant and not share a room with 6 other patients. I'm glad that the maternity hospital is literally just a minute walk from my apartment.
The first visit was with a midwife who asked about medical history and took blood tests. My second visit was with the consultant and I was surprised by the long lines waiting for the doctors. That is normal here and would be worse with public care. I heard private care is more similar to what I would be used to in the US. My consultant is known for being quick and it was a pleasant meeting where he looked at my chart and asked about my previous pregnancy. He also did a quick scan where we saw the baby laying down and moving its arms. Next I need to see my GP. The care is split between GP and hospital care.
I feel the care is more relaxed here. I had a bad delivery experience in the US so I am hoping my experience here is better. Everyone I have talked to here have had good experiences mainly due to the midwives.
I also told my work and they are required to do a health and safely inspection of my work environment to make sure it is safe for me and the baby. They are going to order me a footstool. I thought the concept was weird but after going through it I thought it was a nice idea even if they are required to do it.
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